David Geringas

David Geringas (Vilnius, Lithuania 1946), cellist, conductor and founder of an orchestra for young artists (the Geringas Chamber Orchestra), is one of the most influential musicians of our time. He is considered an authentic bridge between the Eastern European and Western cello traditions. A pupil of Mstislav Rostropovich at the Moscow Conservatory and winner of the gold medal at the 1970 Tchaikovsky Competition, throughout his career he has won prestigious awards including two Echo Klassik and the Grand Prix du Disque for the recordings of the twelve Concertos for cello and orchestra by Boccherini conducted by Bruno Giuranna. Famous contemporary composers have dedicated several works to him, and his discography includes more than 120 records. For years he has devoted himself to teaching, and his legendary cello class included students such as Gustav Rivinius, Jens Peter Maintz, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Monica Leskovar, Tatiana Vassiljeva, Jing Zhao, Johannes Moser, Maximilian Hornung and Sol Gabetta. Since 2005 he has been teaching at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. In 2023 he won the International Classical Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Prize, being described as «a passionate musician and a brilliant mind, […] an example of what the music world really needs in the difficult times we live in».