CREATIVE ACTIVITY

“Music of Changes”: let's open our mind to the changes!

The new concert season at the Klaipeda Concert Hall will begin for the third time with the festival “Music of Changes”. From September 15th until October 24th, the festival aims to find points of lasting value in the ever-changing world of music. What is of value is sometimes instantly clear, but often only time will tell. The festival will present some of the best music of today as well of the 20th century, music which has been influential both then and today.

Multimedia dance project “Time Line”
The creator of this concept, music and video is a composer Vytautas V.Jurgutis. In this original piece the experimental electronics and contemporary dance rhythms are combined.
With digital images, laser metamorphoses and the precise flowing movements of Kaunas Dance Theatre “Aura” dancers, the project explores the invisible relationships between space, energy, matter and time.
Choreographers - Yossi Berg and Oded Graf (Israel) and the artistic director of “Aura” Birutė Letukaitė. The project was created specially for the festival “Gaida 2006”.

Attention to John Cage...
Two concerts this year are dedicated to a famous American composer John Cage. The name of the festival was inspired by his piano piece “Music of Changes”, the first part of which will be performed by the pianist Birutė Vainiūnaitė.  The percussion trio: Saulius Astrauskas, Zenonas Bagavičius and Vladislavas Šeibakas will take part in this project.
According to John Cage, there is no such thing as musical or unmusical sounds; “everything is music (or vice versa)”. What matters is our intention to hear music in the sounds around us.
Listeners will be invited into the extraordinary world of John Cage, where boundaries between “music” and “antimusic” disappear in works performed by the piano, prepared piano, percussions, radio and ... silence.

...and respect to Jeronimas Kačinskas
The creation of Jeronimas Kačinskas, a classicist of Lithuanian modern music, was recognised in 1938 in London, during a festival of the International Society of Contemporary Music with his composition “Nonet”. The avant-garde composers group integrated the author into the new musical movement. However, in Lithuania the music of J. Kačinskas had to wait a long time for recognition. Only in the period of post-soviet independence J. Kačinskas was awarded the titles of Honorary citizen of Klaipėda city and Honorary professor of Klaipėda University, was elected as Honorary member of Lithuanian Composers’ Union and awarded the Lithuanian National Prise.
In a concert to commemorate the 100th anniversary of J. Kačinskas, the Vilnius String Quartet, Kristupas Quintet, Daumantas Kirilauskas (piano) and Arnoldas Gurinavicius (double-bass) will perform his works.
This project will be presented together by Klaipėda Concert Hall and Lithuanian National Philharmonic.

Intellectual and picturesque percussion by Vladimir Tarasov
It is not easy to give a conventional description for the musical activities of Vladimir Tarasov. It is variously called free jazz, polystylism, new improvisational music, aleatoric music, art of sound. During past few years the composer and percussionist has been seen also in sphere of visual arts, his works were presented in museums and art galleries.
During the festival V. Tarasov will introduce his video and sound installation “The First River”, inspired by Dante’s Alighierio “The Divine Comedy”. He will also play a solo drum programme “Atto XII”.

Mike Svoboda and Stefan Hussong: on the „Midstream“
Two German virtuosi – trombonist and composer Mike Svoboda and accordionist Stefan Hussong entitled their programme „Midstream“. A compilation of music composed by masters of XX century and less known authors; it is intriguing to hear how the music of John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen, Luciano Berio and Giacinto Scelsi, Adriana Hölszky and Keiko Harada, Astor Piazzolla and Mike Svoboda himself will be combined.
Undoubtedly it will be an impressive M. Svoboda’s return to Klaipeda after a 12 year break (the performer participated in the festival “Kopa” / “Dune” in 1995).

„Neue Vokalsolisten Stuttgart“
The “Neue Vokalsolisten Stuttgart“ is an elite group of modern vocal music which has been taking part in the major new music festivals worldwide, and is brought to this festival in co-operation with the Lithuanian Composers’ Society, “Gaida” festival and the Goethe Institute-Vilnius. The group seeks for new sounds, vocal techniques and means of articulation to explore, discover and reach new moods. Theatrical elements play a very large part in their performances, as well as interdisciplinary work with electronics, video art and so on. The “Neue Vokalsolisten Stuttgart“ collaborate with composers, and each year perform about 20 premieres of new works.

Lithuanian performers will interpret works by composers from the Baltic countries
In the closing concert the prominent Lithuanian performers and Klaipėda Chamber orchestra will perform works by composers from the Baltic countries. The “Harpsichord concerto” by the Polish composer Henryk Mikołaj Górecki will be specially prepared for this festival by the pianist Petras Geniušas.
Osvaldas Balakauskas’ “Concerto for oboe, cembalo and strings” remains one of the most popular and melodic modern Lithuanian compositions. Robertas Beinaris and Gediminas Kviklys will perform the solo parts in this piece. The wonderful “Melody in Olive Garden” by Onutė Narbutaitė will be played by the trumpeter Igor Kramarev.
These compositions, as well as pieces by Loreta Narvilaitė and Peteris Vasks, will be conducted by Robertas Šervenikas. Like P. Geniušas, O. Balakauskas and O. Narbutaitė, R. Šervenikas is a laureate of Lithuanian National Prise.

Fascinating meetings at Videoclubs
Three intriguing videoclub meetings will take place in this festival.
Videoclub “Osvaldas Balakauskas – The Traveller of Music” will invite to follow the meandrous paths of life and creative of the composer Osvaldas Balakauskas. Celebrating his 70th birthday this year, the composer will tell us about his studies in Kiev, after war years in Klaipėda, educational activities in Vilnius, and Ambassadorial mission in Paris.
In videoclub “John Cage. From Zero” the musicologist Veronika Janatjeva will show excerpts from films and talk about John Cage, his inspiration and influence.
One of Lithuania’s leading electronic music composers and DJ Vytautas Jurgutis will present the multimedia art by the leading artist of Japan’s electronic music Ryoji Ikeda. The fragile but dynamic, refined beauty of R. Ikeda’s sound constructions propose a unique future for multimedia environments.

The festival “Music of Changes” is an invitation to change the sounds of the city, and to change oneself; to open one’s soul and mind to new impressions and the refreshing and enriching world of sounds!