Pianist Vytautas Smetona in Recital
Friday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall
11001 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio
Pianist Vytautas Smetona will present a recital on Friday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, performing works by Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, and his own composition. The recital is presented under the auspices of DeSales Artist Management, LLC.
The event marks Smetona’s first public Cleveland recital in more than 20 years and celebrates his return to the concert stage and the April 14 release of his newest CD, Vytautas Smetona – All the Way Back, on the Navona Records label (NV5992).
Tickets at $20 general admission and are available at the Severance Hall box office. For more information, call 216-231-1111 or 800-686-1411 or visit www.severancehall.com.
Smetona, a grandson of the last president of independent Lithuania, comes from a prominent Cleveland musical family. His late mother, Birute, was a faculty member at the Cleveland Music School Settlement and Ursuline College. His late brother, Anthony, was a graduate of the Juilliard School, a laureate at numerous international piano competitions, performed throughout Europe and North America, and served on the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Willoughby School of Fine Arts, and Ursuline College.
Vytautas Smetona made successful debuts at New York’s Town Hall in 1976 and at London’s Wigmore Hall in 1980. This was followed by a live recital on radio station WQXR in New York. Among the orchestras with which Mr. Smetona has appeared as piano soloist are the Baltimore Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, and the St. Louis Symphony. His playing drew the admiration of Jorge Bolet, Sergiu Comissiona, Lili Kraus, James Levine, Eduardo Mata, Neville Marriner, and Leonard Slatkin.
After this auspicious beginning, Smetona withdrew from a promising performing career and the music world. He is now returning to the world stage with the new CD, as well as performances in Jacksonville, Cleveland, and New York in May.
In addition to his musical accomplishments, Smetona holds master’s degrees in operations research and mathematics, was a ranked tennis player, and has written a number of original compositions. Visit him at http://vytautassmetona.com/.