Aleksandra Žvirblytė
Professor at LMTA Department of Piano and Organ.
One of the most versatile artists in Lithuania, Aleksandra Žvirblytė performs as a soloist, with orchestras, and in various chamber programs. Her desire not to limit herself to the traditional role of a classical pianist has led her to engage in jazz and crossover projects that blend various musical styles, which have been successfully performed not only in Lithuania but also in various halls worldwide.
Aleksandra Žvirblytė was born into a family of musicians and graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music under the tutelage of Prof. O. Steinberg. She pursued advanced studies at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with world-renowned teachers Lev Vlasenko, Mikhail Pletnev, and Nikolai Suk.
She started her pianist career by winning prizes in Youth contests, and at the age of 14 she gave her first full solo recital.
She became a prizewinner at M.K Čiurlionis International Piano Competition (Vilnius 1986, 1991). Y.K.A.A. International Piano Competition (Oberlin, USA 1991), and she were recognized to be the best at N. Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Paris (1999) and were awarded Grand Prix.
Aleksandra Žvirblyte has completed her studies at Lithuanian Academy of Music and postgraduate studies at the famous P. Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow.
She studied with renowned teachers as Lev Vlasenko, Mikhail Pletniov, Nikolai Suk, Olga Steinberg.
She regularly performs in cities across Lithuania, the Baltic States, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Denmark, Sweden, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, the USA, South Korea, Taiwan, Izrael, Kazakhstan, and other countries.
She has performed as a soloist with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra, New ideas chamber orchestra NIKO and other Lithuanian orchestras, as well as with orchestras from Taiwan, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and other countries, under the direction of conductors Saulius Sondeckis, Gintaras Rinkevičius, Juozas Domarkas, Mindaugas Piečaitis, Modestas Barkauskas, Robertas Šervenikas, Alvydas Šulčys, Christo Christov, Aleksei Kolobuchin, Oliver Weder, Pavel Berman, Ching-Ming Lu, and others.
Žvirblytė is also heard in chamber ensembles with singers such as V. Vyšniauskas, M. Rojus, M. Jankauskas, L. Mikalauskas, I . Milkevičiūtė, V. Kuprevičienė; violinists D. Stulgytė, A. Verbauskas; clarinetist A. Budrys; horn player M. Gecevičius; percussionist P. Giunter; jazz artist O. Molokojedov, among others. Her repertoire includes music from various styles, periods, and genres, including works by Lithuanian composers, many of which she was the first to perform. She participates in music festivals in Lithuania, France, Denmark, SNG, and has recorded for Lithuanian Radio and released several CDs.
For 25 years, the project “Lithuanian Pianists Dynasty” has been ongoing, where A. Žvirblytė performs alongside her mother V. Vitaitė and her son P. Andersson. This project has successfully toured concert halls in Lithuania and abroad.
In the past eighth years, Žvirblytė has frequently appeared on stage with saxophonist P. Vyšniauskas, creating original projects that combine classical, contemporary, and improvisational music, such as “Cosmic Čiurlionis,” “Mystic Čiurlionis,” the rock fantasy “Čiurlionis Rex,” “Provocations,” and many others.
She divides her time between the life of a concert pianist and a job at the Lithuanian Academy of music, where she is working as Professor in Piano Dept. Aleksandra Žvirblytė is also teacher-expert at the National M.K.Čiurlionis Art School. In 2023, she was awarded the Teacher of the Year award.
Žvirblytė’s students and pupils have won laureate and diploma titles nearly 90 times in international competitions in Lithuania, France, Greece, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, the USA, Malta, Ukraine, Georgia, Poland, Cocta Rica. She has also mentored a significant number of artists who now teach at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, the National M.K. Čiurlionis School of Art, and other schools in Lithuania and abroad. These artists perform as soloists, play in orchestras, and in ensembles in both Lithuanian and international concert halls.
Aleksandra Žvirblytė is a chairmen or jury member of intl. competitions in Lithuania, Sweden (Nordic Piano competition), Italy (Roberta Gallinari), Serbia (Jeunesses Musicales), Poland (Polish music competition) also various competitions in Finland, Ukraina, Russia, Poland, Costa Rica. She is also frequently invited to hold master classes in Lithuania, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Germany, UK, Spain, Poland, Costa Rica, Ukraina, and other countries.
Aleksandra Žvirblytė is a organizer of various international festivals, competitions, educational projects in Lithuania and abroad. She is a founder and artistic director of International M.K. Čiurlionis music Festival is Palanga and Vilnius
For her extensive concert and creative work, Aleksandra Žvirblytė has been honored with the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture’s Honorary Badge “Carry Your Light and Believe” (2017), the Gold Cross of the President of Poland (2019), a diploma from the Polish Minister of Culture for her active efforts in promoting and preserving the legacy of F. Chopin (2011), the Transcarpathian Foundation for Cultural Development’s designation as “Ambassador of Polish Culture” (2023), the Lithuanian Ministry of Education and Science’s Teacher of the Year Award (2022), as well as numerous accolades from Lithuanian Presidents A. Brazauskas, V. Adamkus, D. Grybauskaitė, Lithuanian Prime Ministers, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Speaker of the Parliament , international competition organizers in Lithuania and abroad, and various Lithuanian municipalities.