Liberal KS

I try not feed myself with expectations anymore.  Life events, menus, people, weather ... they always turn to be different than we expect. We manipulate our minds expecting the best because we want things to be that way. We create an illusionary world and then ... we get disappointed, get depressed and even worse. I am not planing to kill myself. No. I am planning to celebrate and drink champagne because i am going to do things that are only meaningful or fun for me. That's all! 

Liberal KS started with turning on the lights with janitor, moving the piano by myself, 

and warming up in front of the ghosts.  

Later it was a real deal. 

During the intermission i talked to the young journalists who wrote next day ; )

Wednesday, 11 November 2009 | Written by Deisi Barboza |

Lithuanian pianist Rudolf Budginas isn’t your typical concert pianist; instead, he mixes a combination of comical flair and uniqueness to century old masterpieces.  

For example, he takes one of Beethoven’s most famous works Symphony No. 5 and reworks it by playing the drums and piano all at once.  With his hands and lap full of instruments he turns to the audience filled with laugher and states “Please be serious. This is classical music concert not joke.”  Budginas even went as far as playing the harmonica and donning a cowboy hat for a couple of songs. 

Playfulness aside, Budginas is an extremely talented pianist.  His whole body is in sync with each piece, as he jerks his upper body with each strong note and shakes his head along with the tune. 

Between each song, Budginas gives a bit of background on the songs and the era in which they come from.   However he manages to slip a joke or two inside without a cheesy punch line Budginas is just natural funny on and off the stage.  This form of concert is something that didn’t come naturally for him at first.  “I started classical in Europe,” Budginas said.  “But in the US, I just wanted to change, to break barriers and talk to the audience.”  

For his take on another well known classic, Bizet’s Carmen, he enlists on volunteers from the audience to create a last minute orchestra consisting of a shaker, tambourine, triangle and a drum.  

For the finale he performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue which received huge fanfare as the audience gave Budginas a standing ovation.  For an encore he played another Gershwin piece, Prelude 1.

Budginas described George Gershwin as being the prefect balance of classic and blues; yet, Budginas himself is prefect balance of talent and funny.  He knew exactly when to make the crowd laugh and when to wow them with flawless takes on Beethoven, Bach, Chopin and other composers.   

After was a "phat" dinner.

and chilling with special fans