The Lithuanian cellist and conductor David Geringas belongs to the musical elite of today. An unusually broad repertoire from the early Baroque to the contemparary is testament to the flexibility and curiosity of the artist. His intellectual rigor, his stylistic versality, his melodical feeling and sensuousness of his tone have brought him praise the world over.
The Rostropovich pupil and gold-medal winner of the 1970 Tchaikovsky Competition can now look back on a career that spanned decades.
David Geringas has performed world-wide with some of the leading orchestras, and important conductors of out time. His discography, which now approaches 100 CDs, includes many that have honored with important prizes, including the Grand Prix du Dusque for his recording of the 12 cello concertos of Luigi Boccherini, the Diapason d’Or d’Année for the chamber music of Henri Dutilleux, and the prize of the year from the Deutschen Schallplattenkritik for his recording of the cello concertos by Hans Pritzner. In 2013, David Geringas received the “Echo Klassic” for the best chamber music recording of 20-21. Century (Braunfels/Strauss, Profil Edition Günter Hänssler).
Prominent in his career as an artist are the regular releases of outstanding CDs. Between 2008 and 2011, eight new CDs were released. Among them are two world-premiers (“David’s Songs” and “Discorsi”, Profil Edition Günter Hänssler), the works for piano and cello by Sergei Rachmaninoff (Hänssler Classics), of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartoldy (Profil Edition Günter Hänssler) and Frederic Chopin (Sony Music Entertainment), as well as the complete works of Violoncello and Piano by Ludwig van Beethoven (Hänssler Classics) with the pianist Ian Fountain. The CD of the cycle “Bach Plus”, that includes all the six Bach Suites for violoncello, introduced with fragments from various composers was released in October 2011 and was recenty reviewed in the journals Der Spiegel and Fonoforum.
Well-known comtemporary composers such as Sofia Gubaidulina, Ned Porem, Peteris Vasks and Erkki-Sven Tür have dedicated cell concertos to him. He has premiered many works of the Russian and Lithuanian avant-garde in the West. In 2002, he gave the world premiere of the Concerto in DO by Anatolijus Senderovas, which was dedicated to him, and won the European Composers Prize in Berlin. In 2012, David Geringas performed three world premiers, Arvydas Malcys’ Concerto “In Memoriam” in Kaunas, the Concerto per Violoncello by Sylvia Colasanti in Milan, and the Cello Concerto by Alexander Raskatov in Amsterdam.
As a conductor, David Geringas appears regularly in Germany and abroad, and appears frequently in a dual role as cellist and conductor. Besides the invitation from citadels of West and East Europian music centers (Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Auditorium Parco della musica Roma, Wiener Musikverein, Tonhalle Zürich, Berliner Philharmonie), among others, he has received invitations from Asia and USA. From 2005 to 2008, he was chief conductor for the Kyushu Philharmonic Orchestra and in 2007 he had his debut at the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and the China Philharmonic Orchestra. In February 2009, he made his debut as conductor with the Moscow Philharmonic in Moscow. His opera conducting debut followed in 2010 with Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin in Klaipeda, Lithuania.
David Geringas has for decades taught a world-famous cello class, from which have come such cello starts as Gustav Rivinius, Jens Peter Maintz, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Monika Leskovar, Tatiana Vassiljeva, Jing Zhao, Johannes Mozer, Maximilian Hornung and Sol Gabetta.
For his championing of Lithuanian music and composers, David Geringas has won the highest awards of his homeland. He was awarded the Verienstkreuz 1. Klasse of Germany for his achievements as musician and cultural ambassador for the country on the international musical scene. David Geringas is honorary professor at the Moscow Conservatory and at the Central Conservatory in Beijing, as well as having received an honorary doctorate from the Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy.
