A virtuoso accordion player who triumphed in Lithuania's Got Talent and covered a Lady Gaga hit has landed a major record deal in the UK.
Martynas Levickis, aged 22, a world champion on his instrument and a graduate of London's Royal Academy of Music, has landed a classical deal.
He is the first accordion player to be signed by Decca Classics and says he aims to bring the keyboard to a wider audience.
The repertoire on his album Martynas, to be released in the summer, includes classical standards such as Air On A G String, Hungarian Dance and Rondo Alla Turca, as well as Lady Gaga's chart-topper Telephone.
Levickis developed his prodigious talent after his godfather gave him a tiny accordion as a child in his native Lithuania.
He went on to study with one of his country's leading teachers at the Saulius Sondeckis Music School.
Viewers were spellbound by his performances which led to him winning the TV contest and he also took first prize in the 2010 Accordion World Cup in Croatia. Levickis has gone on to play venues such as Wigmore Hall and Ronnie Scott's in London.
He said: "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Decca and bring the accordion to an ever larger audience."
Paul Moseley, managing director of Decca Classics, said: "Martynas is the master of an instrument lodged deep in most of our musical memories.
"His mission is to bring the accordion back into the mainstream where it belongs.
"His unstuffy virtuosity and showmanship are the advocacy this wonderful instrument needs and Decca is delighted to be breaking boundaries with him."
