Music of the Time Passing By

The programme presented by the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, entitled “Music of the Time Passing By”, celebrates two of the most eminent Lithuanian composers and introduces a well-known work by the Danish composer.

On 13 September 2022 Bronius Kutavičius would have celebrated his 90th anniversary but he passed away on 29 September last year. A recipient of the country’s highest artistic distinction, Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts, Kutavičius has long been recognised as one of the most important composers of contemporary Lithuanian music and a pioneer of Lithuanian minimalism. He has drawn inspiration from the history and cultural heritage of his native Lithuania. His musical language is rooted in the most archaic layers of Lithuanian folklore. Quite simple at first sight, his musical fabric if woven of short patterns, which repeat and rotate in a multi-layered texture to create a mesmerising effect on the audience.

The symphony-oratorio Epitaphium temporum pereunti, written for mixed choir and symphony orchestra, has been regarded as one of the milestones of his original style. Commissioned by the Music Harvest Festival in Odense (Denmark) in 1998, the work marks the most significant events in the history of Vilnius: the foundation ant the first mention of the city in the letters of Grand Duke Gediminas (1323), the establishment of the Vilnius University (1579), the martyrdom of Lithuania’s freedom fighters (1832), and the re-consecration of the Vilnius Cathedral at the end of the Soviet era (1989). In the performance of this monumental four-movement work, the orchestra will be joined by the Vilnius Choir.

Osvaldas Balakauskas, who will turn 85 on 19 December this year, is known not only for his work as an eminent composer and educator, but also as a politician. He has als been awarded the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts for his highly original work. The programme features Tetra, a symphonic poem with a title (meaning “four” in Greek) that “denotes the four-part counterpoint used in this work.” It was commissioned for the composer’s 70^th anniversary concert by the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society.

Among the performers featured at this concert is soprano Lauryna Bendžiūnaitė – one of the most brilliant and accomplished Lithuanian singers of her generation. Coming from Nida, she began her musical education at the Stasys Šimkus Conservatory in Klaipėda to be followed by the music academies in Vilnius and London. She now enjoys a successful career at the world’s major opera houses and concert halls.

She will sing solo in Hans Abrahamsen’s song cycle Let me tell you for soprano and orchestra. After the world premiere of this work at the Berlin Philharmonic with Barbara Hannigan as a soloist and a dedicatee in 2013, The Guardian called the piece “ravishingly and astonishingly beautiful.” During the past decade it has been repeatedly performed by the world’s greatest symphony orchestras.

The programme will be conducted by the acclaimed champion of contemporary music and promoter of Lithuanian composers, Robertas Šervenikas.

• 50% off for schoolchildren, students, senior citizens and people with disabilities (appropriate cards to be shown);

• 50% off for children under 7 years of age (admitted only to the educational programmes);

• Admission free for persons in wheelchairs (appropriate cards to be shown ) and 50% off for one accompanying person;

• 10% off for group bookings (20 and more tickets for one event);

• 100% off for schoolchildren and students of the Klaipėda art schools (appropriate ID cards to be shown), which include: Klaipėda Stasys Šimkus Conservatory, Klaipėda Juozas Karosas Music School, Klaipėda Eduardas Balsys Gymnasium of Arts, Klaipėda Jeronimas Kačinskas Music School, Klaipėda Faculty of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Klaipėda Adomas Brakas School of Art. A transaction fee of € 1.20 is applied when purchasing tickets via the BILIETAI ticketing system.