Onutė Gražinytė

Onutė Gražinytė was born into a family of musicians in 1996 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Already at the age of five she began studying piano under the guidance of her mother, and at the age of six she entered the “National M.K. Čiurlionis School of Art,” actively participating in local cultural life. In 2015, she was the music composer and stage director of the New Year’s Eve opera at the school, a long-standing tradition carried on by future graduates. Since 2015, Gražinytė has been studying piano under Roland Krüger at the University of Music, Theatre and Media in Hanover. She is a scholarship student of the “Yehudi Menuhin Foundation – Live Music Now” in Hannover. She takes part in masterclasses given by such masters as Matti Raekallio, Ewa Kupiec, Andrei Gavrilov, Stephen Kovacevich, Ronald Brautigam, Mūza Rubackytė, Nina Seriogina, Maurizio Moretti, etc. In her career she is already the winner of 10 national and international competitions it should be mentioned that: she received a diploma and a special prize for the best performance of a 20th century piece, participates in and wins the “4th International Competition for Young Interpreters” in Głubczyce (Poland, 2007), gets a prize at the “Leonas Povilaitis Young Interpreters Competition” (2008), a prize at the “J.S Bach National Competition” in Vilnius (2009), a diploma and a special prize for the best performance of the work of B.Dvarionas at the “17th Balys Dvarionas Piano and String Instrument Competition in Vilnius” (2012), first prize at the “4th Rosario Marciano International Piano Competition” in Vienna (2012), first prize and a special prize from jury member Marian Sobula at the “EMCY Peter Toperczer International Piano Competition” in Slovakia. As a soloist, Gražinytė has appeared with the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, the National M.K. Orchestra of the Čiurlionis School of Art, the Klaipėda Chamber Orchestra, the Kaunas Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the University of Alicante, the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg, and the National Orchestra of Lyon. She is also a passionate lover of chamber music, playing in duos with violin or cello. In 2017, Gražinytė collaborated with the contemporary music ensemble “Musik21 Niedersachsen” at the Cologne Philharmonic, where she performed a harpsichord part. He has given recitals in Lithuania, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, Estonia, the Netherlands, Poland, France and Denmark. In 2015, the President of the Republic of Lithuania also recognized Gražinytė for her musical achievements in national and international competitions. In 2018, the young pianist performed in renowned concert halls, such as the Warsaw Philharmonic and the Berlin Konzerthaus. In the same year, Onute won the “Haiou Zhang Piano Award 2018.”