DAVID GERINGAS
cellist and conductor
Mstislav Rostropovich praised his master pupil as “one
of the world's best young cellists”, and went on to say:
“It’s difficult to say good things about your own
pupil. If your praise is too effusive, people may think you're
actually praising yourself as a teacher. Nonetheless, I stick
to my opinion: a truly gifted artist will achieve great things,
regardless of who he was taught by. I believe David Geringas
has an outstanding career ahead of him, and I’d like to
express my gratitude to those who help him climb to the pinnacle
of his art.” (Mstislav Rostropovich, Moscow 1970)
The Lithuanian cellist and conductor David Geringas is one of
the most versatile musicians of our time, with an unusually
wide repertoire ranging from the Early Baroque to contemporary
composers. He has given many works of Russian and Lithuanian
avant-garde music their first performances in the West, and
has been awarded his native country's highest honours for his
worldwide support of Lithuanian composers and their works. In
October 2006 the President of Germany, Horst Köhler, awarded
him the Bundesverdienstkreuz (1st class) for his international
achievements as a musician and as an ambassador for Germany
as a cultural nation. David Geringas holds a professorship at
Berlin's Hanns Eisler College of Music. He is also an honorary
professor at the Moscow Conservatoire and at the Central Conservatoire
for Music in Peking, and holds an honorary doctorate for music
from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Drama.
David Geringas studied the Violoncello at the Moscow Conservatoire,
an academy rich in tradition, from 1963-73; his teacher was
Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1969 he won first prize in the Third
All-Union Competition in Baku, and in the following year he
carried off both first prize and the gold medal at the renowned
Tchaikovsky Competition. In addition, David Geringas studied
conducting at the Lithuanian Academy of Music under Prof. Juozas
Domarkas.
David Geringas has played all over the world with the Major
orchestras and the leading conductors of our time. His extensive
discography contains numerous recordings that have been awarded
top record prizes, among them the Grand Prix du Disque for his
recording of the 12 Boccherini Violoncello concertos, the Diapason
d’Or d’Année for the chamber music of Henri
Dutilleux and the annual award of the German record critics
for his recording of Hans Pfitzner’s Violoncello concertos.
Well-known contemporary composers such as Sofia Gubaidulina,
Ned Rorem, Peteris Vasks and Erkki-Sven Tüür have
dedicated works to David Geringas. July 2006 saw the first performance
of Anatolijus Šenderova's “David’s Song for
Violoncello and String Quartet” in Kronberg/Germany—a
work composed to mark the cellist’s 60th birthday.
As a conductor, David Geringas regularly stands on the rostrum
both at home and abroad. From 2005-2008 he was chief guest conductor
of the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra Japan. In 2007 he made his
début with both the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and
the China Philharmonic Orchestra, and February 2009 saw his
conducting début with the Moscow Philharmonic in Moscow.
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