About Rasa
"Beethoven interpreter of penetrating insight"
— Fanfare
Internationally acclaimed multiple prize-winning Lithuanian pianist Rasa Vitkauskaite has been hailed for “artistry of poetic and observant sensitivity” (Gramophone) and dubbed as “a Beethoven interpreter of penetrating insight” (Fanfare). Recently invited to join the prestigious Steinway Artist roster, Rasa has performed in over 30 countries. She is the long-serving, critically acclaimed pianist of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and a voting member of the Recording Academy.
Current season highlights Rasa’s new album A Concert Piano Christmas at Boston Symphony Hall, which is currently for consideration in the Best Classical Instrumental Solo at the Grammy® Awards. Her recent Concerto CD including Mozart Concerto No. 20 in D Minor and Beethoven Concerto No. 3 in C Minor was praised as comparable to Rudolf Serkin and the New York Philharmonic. She has also recorded the Mendelssohn Double Concerto with Tchaikovsky Gold Medal violinist Ilya Kaler.
Rasa released her debut solo CD Reflections on Ongaku Records in 2014, featuring works by Beethoven, Ravel, Guastavino and Liebermann. Fanfare highlighted the release on its cover, praising her “scintillating pianism.” Her debut recording as soloist with orchestra performing Liszt/Weber Polonaise brillante recorded at the Hungarian National Radio was released as a digital single in 2016. Recent seasons have also featured a solo recital on the prestigious Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in the Chicago Cultural Center that was broadcast live on WFMT radio and hundreds of affiliated stations nationwide.
Winner of the Grand Prix at the Mendelssohn Cup Piano Competition in Italy, Rasa Vitkauskaite has won top prizes at numerous prestigious international piano competitions including First Prizes at Les Rencontres Internationales des Jeunes Pianistes (Belgium), the competition in Taurisano (Italy), and the Rubinstein Piano Competition (Paris). Other awards include the Westmont Fellowship at the Montecito International Music Festival in Santa Barbara, California, and a Kathryn Wasserman Davis $10,000 grant supporting a concert tour of Israel. She has also won top prizes at six national competitions in her native country of Lithuania.
Recent recital tours have taken Rasa to China, South Korea, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, and across the United States. Her solo engagements include the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra, Budapest Sinfonia, Kaunas and Latvian Philharmonic orchestras, I Solisti di Perugia, and the Boston Conservatory Orchestra. She has appeared at festivals in Assisi (Italy), Madrid (Spain), Mexico City, Caracas (Venezuela), Taiyuan (China), and Porto (Portugal).
“Vitkauskaite has established an enviable reputation as an intelligent performer who injects insight into every note and whose phrasing is nigh on perfect…”
– Steve Arloff, MusicWeb International
An avid chamber musician, Rasa performs regularly with world-renowned clarinetist Jonathan Cohler. MusicWeb International praised her as “a master” on the duo’s 2014 release of American Tribute (in honor of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15, 2013), and as “a brilliant and sympathetic partner” on their 2013 release Romanza, featuring works by Schumann, Prokofiev and Guastavino. American Record Guide singled out her “subtle musicianship and exceptional skill” on Rhapsodie Française, the 2008 debut duo CD with Mr. Cohler. Rasa has also collaborated with world-renowned violinist James Buswell, University of Maryland professor violinist Irina Muresanu, cellist Julia Bruskin of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, long-time Cleveland Orchestra principal clarinetist Franklin Cohen, members of the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Mexico National Symphony, among many others.
Rasa studied with Jūratė Karosaitė at the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts in Vilnius, Lithuania, from which she graduated with honors. She then won a scholarship to study at the United World College of the Adriatic in Italy, where she studied with Alberto Miodini. Upon graduating, she was awarded the prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma with highest grades in music. Subsequently, she completed her Bachelors and Masters Degrees at The Boston Conservatory, where she studied with Michael Lewin and won the H. Wilfred Churchill piano scholarship competition both in 2007 and 2008. She also completed a Graduate Performance Diploma under Randall Hodgkinson.
In addition to her active performing career, Rasa is a dedicated teacher and adjudicator. She teaches a large private studio in Cambridge, Massachusetts, including Conservatory level pianists and college students. A frequent guest teacher, Rasa has recently given masterclasses, private lessons, and chamber music coachings at Ohio University, University of Akron, National University of Rosario in Argentina, Carlos Gomes State Institute in Belém, Brazil, and Longy School of Music of Bard College, just to name a few. Rasa is a highly sought-after adjudicator having most recently judged the Steinway Society, University of Rhode Island, Westfield State University, and Massachusetts Music Teachers Association Bay State Piano Competitions, among others.
