A Musical Afternoon for the Whole Family: The Snowman

Young and old are invited to experience a magical story about imagination and friendship, love and loss. The story begins on Christmas Eve, when a lonely boy builds a snowman in his garden and soon embarks on a night-time adventure filled with wonder. The story will be told by pianist GINTARAS JANUŠEVIČIUS, well known to Lithuanian audiences for his engaging programmes. Since becoming a father, he has increasingly added works for young listeners to his repertoire. G. Januševičius’s latest stage challenge is Howard Blake’s “The Snowman”. Written in 1982, the work was inspired by the now-iconic children’s book by Raymond Briggs. Written and illustrated by Briggs himself, the story has been one of the world’s most popular and iconic children’s books for almost 50 years, beautifully conveying the wonder and innocence of childhood. The animated film based on the book was voted one of Britain’s three all-time favourite Christmas programmes. In this interactive performance, G. Januševičius will play the piano version of the work, telling the story engagingly in Lithuanian and even singing. Throughout the concert, listeners will be invited to join in the interpretation of this beautiful Christmas story, full of adventures and contrasts, using mime. The concert will also include excerpts from Balys Dvarionas’s cycle “Winter Sketches”. Pianist, storyteller and radio host G. JANUŠEVIČIUS combines virtuosic piano playing with text, movement, scents and other theatrical elements in his concert programmes. A laureate of the M. K. Čiurlionis International Piano and Organ Competition and a finalist in the prestigious Montreal Music Competition, he is one of the pioneers of the narrative recital in Lithuania. His programmes “The Little Prince”, “The New Colossus” and “The Merchant of Venice Stories” have been successfully presented around the world. Because each programme features transformations in repertoire and stage elements, the German press has nicknamed him “the chameleon”. In Lithuania, his “The Story of Babar the Little Elephant”, performed with the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, has been a great success with children. In it, G. Januševičius is the pianist, storyteller, scriptwriter and music arranger. Recommended age: children aged 5–12. Photo by “Studio Piccolo”. Illustration by Raymond Briggs.