Lukas Geniusas

Lukas Geniušas – Rachmaninoff: Piano Sonata No. 1 (Original Version) & Preludes Op. 32 (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 55:43 minutes | 854 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Alpha Classics

The pianist Lukas Geniušas has recorded the original version of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata no.1 in the composer’s Swiss home Villa Senar (Sergei & Natalia Rachmaninoff) and on his own piano, an unusually long Steinway & Sons model, presented to the composer and concert pianist by the manufacturer to mark his sixtieth birthday. The difference between the original version of Sonata no.1 and the second version, shorter by more than 100 bars, is not just a question of length, according to Lukas Geniušas: ‘There is a lot lost between the first and second editions. I know it goes against the grain, but I would name this sonata to be one of, if not the best Rachmaninoff’s solo piano work. Its shattering might, its splendor and scale can only be likened to the Third piano concerto, which was written soon after.’ The programme is completed by four preludes from the Op. 32 set.

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Lukas Geniušas – Sergey Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 14 & No. 5, Op. 38/135 – 10 Pieces for Piano, Op. 12 (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 59:34 minutes | 756 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Mirare

Through his “brilliance and maturity” (as described by The Guardian) the Russian-Lithuanian pianist Lukas Geniušas has established himself on the international scene as one of the most interesting artists of his generation. He has appeared in London’s Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Milan’s Salle Verdi, Moscow’s Conservatory and Roque d’Anthéron, and with orchestras such as the Philharmonique de Radio France, the National de Lyon, the NHK of Tokyo, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, the Russian National Orchestra, the list goes on… He has chosen here a Prokofiev programme combining early works from his younger years (the Ten Pieces Op. 12 which is a junior work and yet so intimately prokofievian already!) with the work from his first stage of maturity (Second Sonata from 1912) and the work from his full maturity (the Fifth Sonata). Even better, this Fifth Sonata was written “for the first time” in 1923 after his time in Paris, then revised three decades later under the constraint, undoubtedly, of the infamous Jdanov decree which had accused the composer of all anti-Soviet evils, but also due to a very personal concern (he wanted to purify the piano gesture). In a way this work seems almost “Parisian” as it has so many similarities with Poulenc’s style.

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Lukas Geniusas – Chopin: Mazurkas & Sonate No. 3 (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 52:34 minutes | 680 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Mirare

Since winning a prize at the 2010 Fryderyk Chopin International Competition in Warsaw, the Russian-Lithuanian pianist Lukas Geniušas has remained constant in his love for the Polish composer. After a debut album on Mirare devoted to Sergei Prokofiev (2018), he presents this recording which reveals two almost contradictory aspects of Chopin: the mazurkas, brief immersions in the composer’s soul, steeped in yearning for his homeland; and the ardent Third Sonata, one of his most masterly structures.

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Lukas Geniušas – Chants Populaires (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:05:22 minutes | 761 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Mirare

A Russian rural scene narrated by a bard, characters from traditional Hungarian songs, folk tunes from Bucovina with enigmatic titles and melodies – this summarizes the musical journey proposed here by Russian-Lithuanian pianist Lukas Geniusas. These scores are inspired by Central and Eastern European folklore and embody the junction of two musical art forms that have been in constant dialogue over the centuries. Tchaikovsky’s Dumka (inspired by traditional Ukrainian or Polish ballads with a mournful tone) is encapsulating the album’s character.

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