“City Life”

“City Life”is a 24-minute sonic picture of contemporary city as portrayed by American minimalist composer Steve Reich in 1995, which is scored for an extended chamber ensemble and sampled city sounds, pre-recorded speech and noises played live during the performance. Knowing the composer’s penchant for new technology, this piece uses it to the fullest advantage. The five-movement piece, distinguished for catchy rhythmic movement and the abundant use of percussive instruments and effects, reveals the colourful and vibrant life in the composer’s home town of New York City. It reminds of an ebbing and flowing river of minimalist sonorities, whose undulating and ever-changing flow carries both pre-recorded sounds from the streets of New York and instrumental doublings of speech intonations and rhythmic samples.

Reich’s City Life will round off the programme presented by the Klaipėda Chamber Orchestra, which begins with his somewhat earlier Duet for two violins and strings (1994) dedicated to world-famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin. Its solo parts will be performed by violinists Dalia Dėdinskaitė and Teodora Morta Ajauskaitė. This programme also features Credo in Us (1942), styled as “a dramatic playlet for Two Characters” and described by its author, American experimental composer John Cage, as “a suite with a satirical character.” It calls for four performers: a pianist; two percussionists playing muted gongs, tin cans, electric buzzer and tom-toms; and a fourth performer operating a radio and a phonograph and playing sound samples from the recordings of classical works, as well as fragments of radio broadcast.

Two musicians known for having a soft spot for rhythmic music – percussionist Pavel Giunter and pianist Guoda Gedvilaitė – will join the orchestra in the performances of Emmanuel Séjourné’s Concerto for Vibraphone and String Orchestra (1999) and Concerto for Piano and Chamber Orchestra (2005) by Arvydas Malcys who celebrates his 60^th anniversary this year. The programme will be conducted by the contemporary music aficionado, Mindaugas Piečaitis.

“I don’t know what the future development holds for me and where it will take me, but I also understand the necessity to be open to it. I don’t even know what to expect from this process – it is a question of the future…” (Steve Reich)