Lithuanian concert pianist Emilija Zukauskaite graduated from the M.K. Čiurlionis National Music High School and the Vilnius Academy of Music and Theatre, she has won many prizes at international competitions and also
performed with famous orchestras in Lithuania. In 2023 she got her diploma in piano solo from the prestigious École Normale Alfred Cortot in Paris in the class of Prof. Michael Wladkovski. Emilija began her training as a pianist at the age of 6. She studied at the M.K. Čiurlionis National Music High School with Prof. Donaldas Račys. Then she continued her studies at the Vilnius Academy of Music and Theatre where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in piano. During this period, she began to immerse herself in various projects in collaboration with writers, philosophers and composers of contemporary music to create educational productions. Emilija Zukauskaite is also one of the project coordinators in the F. Liszt Association “Lisztuania”.

Zukauskaite regularly participates in festivals and master classes in Europe, as a soloist with the chamber orchestra and as a vocal accompanist in several countries (Germany, France, Italy, Poland and Russia). She has worked with
famous pianists such as prof. Mūza Rubackytė, prof. Karl-Heinz Kaemmerling, prof. Avedis Kouyoumdjian and others. She participates in festivals and master classes in Europe as a soloist, with chamber orchestras and as a pianist-accompanist in several countries, such as Germany, France, Lithuania and Russia.

1. When and how did you realize that your whole life would be linked to music?

Music has always held a special place in our family of musicians. I was lucky enough to be immersed in discussions and memorable concerts since childhood. But it was after a concert by Yvo Pogorelich that I had a revelation. I felt invaded by a mystery, by a deep and unfathomable power of music. At that moment I understood that I could never forget this feeling. So I will work and look for it, I will try to approach it, even if just a little. And then, sharing my discoveries with the public – it is a continuous happiness.

2. Which composer has most influenced your musical imagination?

Robert Schumann. My teacher at the conservatory was very passionate about his work. He encouraged me to discover “The Butterflies”, “Kreisleriana”. He told me about the members of the “Brotherhood of David” (Davidsbündlertänze), and I imagined what it would be like if I could one day be part of it… It was literature, which had become music, which had become a living and real story for me.

3. What is your main creative motto?

“It’s not about playing music, it’s about letting the music play us.”

4. What would you like to express during your performance at the festival? What will your program consist of and why this choice?

I would like to continue to present the music of the Lithuanian composer and painter M. K.

Ciurlionis, whose 150th birthday we are celebrating this year. He is better known to the French public as a great painter of the early 20th century, who inspired artists such as Kandinsky, Malevich and others with his new forms of expression. (His paintings have already been exhibited twice at the Musée d’Orsay). But what is perhaps less well known is that he was first and foremost a pianist and composer. He studied at the renowned conservatories of Warsaw and Leipzig. Ciurlionis was also an innovative composer, ahead of his century, using polyphony, modern chords and musical arabesques. It is a deep feeling that connects me to his music. His colours, his melodies are so close to our country. It is a language that is dear and familiar to us. I would like his music to reach an even wider audience.

5. What goals do you set for yourself, what projects do you have on the horizon?

This year, my most important project is to prepare the two sonatas of G. Fauré for cello and piano, with my brother, Giedrius Zukauskas, the cellist, for concerts in Lithuania and Germany. These are sonatas that are rarely played, and it is both a goal and a great pleasure to be able to share with our Lithuanian audience what we learn. My brother lives in Germany, and me being based in France, our experiences, the new sonorities that we find, as well as the wonderful music that we have the chance to understand better and sometimes to discover.

Duo Zukauskas – J.Massenet “Méditation”

6. How do you see the future of piano music?

I believe that piano music will continue to amaze and excite future generations. After all, it is an orchestral instrument! It can be intimate and grandiose at times. In my eyes, it has no limits. And this will inspire the imagination of composers and pianists, as has been the case up until now.

7. What does Paris represent for you, do you have a special relationship with this city and why did you accept the invitation to participate in the festival?

When I was young, I dreamed of living in Austria or Germany, countries where Schumann, Schubert, Beethoven lived and created. But on the first day, when I arrived in France ten years ago, I felt at home. It was life in itself, it did showed me my true dream. My studies at the École normale de musique de Paris, the concerts, the museums, the very different and interesting people I was able to meet… In Paris, every day becomes a discovery. And to have the chance to participate in the Piano Revenge Festival, to be able to play in this charming space of the Théâtre de l’Île Saint-Louis, in the heart of Paris, and to share the music of my country, this is a great honor.

Discover Piano Revenge Festival (buy Tickets here) and Emilija’s Music