Thu, May 2,
19:00
Tartu Heino Eller Music School
Ieva Sipaitytė (violin)
Robertas Bliškevičius (viola)
Andrius Žiūra (clarinet)
Ignas Daniulis (clarinet)
Raimondas Sviackevičius (accordion)
Tomas Bieliauskas (oboe)
Vykintas Baltakas (conductor)
Andrius Maslekovas – Rhizomes d’ombre (2024, premiere)
Gundega Šmite – Five Illuminations (2015) for accordion
Timo Steiner – Amidst the River, a Flower Blooms… (2024, premiere)
Toivo Tulev – To ebb, to flow, perchance to dream (2024, premiere)
Jānis Petraškevičs – Madman’s Glove II (2020) for solo viola
Vykintas Baltakas – Cladi III (2021)
Rhizomes d’ombre (Shadow Rhizomes, 2024, premiere), Andrius Maslekovas: On one of those rare autumn mornings when a few rays of sunlight break through a thick layer of clouds, illuminating the windows of my living room and pleasantly warming the parquet floor, I stepped onto a shade… I could feel its coolness as it wound its way through the floor and up the walls, entangling my thoughts and memories into its threads, like a Deleuzian rhizome unexpectedly connecting me with my inner world of ever-expanding shadows, where I no longer saw the light coming through the window… only the shadow… and countless shades of darkness that will hopefully allow me to experience the joy of light… one day…
Gundega Šmite: Five Illuminations (2015) for accordion solo is a cycle of five short movements. In each movement, a specific colour is illuminated, and each colour is related to a particular expression or ‘affect’.
1. Ablazing RED, 2. Airily BLUE, 3. Tenebrous BLACK, 4. Crystal-clear BLACK, 5. Thistly GOLD
Amidst the River, a Flower Blooms… (2024, premiere) With each stroke of the oar, the Quest for the Most Beautiful Flower begins. With a steadfast belief that she exists. She is out there. Yet with an equal measure of despair in ever encountering her, finding her, truly facing her. And to gaze endlessly, to feel boundlessly, to immerse oneself, to flood the inner world with that incomprehensible beauty…
And the boat drifts into the currents. Am I the journey? The bloom?
To ebb, to flow, perchance to dream (2023/2024, premiere).
To ebb, to flow, perchance to dream
For in that flow what dreams may come
Madman’s Glove II (2020), Jānis Petraškevičs: The tense and electrified right-hand’s gestures of the violist, required when performing this piece, create a dramatic overall character. Madman’s Glove II pursues my quest into the structural resources of certain non-octaviating scales; thus the parameter of harmony here functions as the main driving force. The work was originally written for and dedicated to Yoshiko Hannya.
Cladi III (2021), Vykintas Baltakas: Recently, I have been interested in a certain openness of musical structure, accidents and uncertainties, which can trigger unexpected musical situations, give way to new harmonies and focus on playfulness, rather than exact realisation. I have been looking for an open form and new ways of interaction in my works.
Cladi III develops ideas and uses material from previous compositions like Cladi I for accordion (2020, West German Radio) and Cladi II for ensemble (2021, der/gelbe/klang ensemble). All three works develop an idea of extended unison, a vivid line which splits up in different trajectories, changing its internal structure, colour and density. I achieve this by desynchronising instrumental parts, leaving only specific moments for intersection; this way musicians can react more strongly to the musical context and to each other. The electronics connect and expand these lines in space. Cladi III is dedicated to the memory of Bronius Kutavičius (1932–2021), my first teacher in composition.
LENsemble Vilnius (Lithuanian Ensemble Network) is a collective that connects musicians from some of the most experienced ensembles in the Lithuanian contemporary music scene, such as the Chordos Quartet, Kristupas Wind Quintet, Kaskados Piano Trio, and others. Since its inaugural concert at WDR Cologne (2009), it has promoted Baltic contemporary music at numerous important international venues and various festivals in Lithuania. The open structure of the ensemble allows for experimentation with unconventional formations. For the concert in Tartu, three composers (Andrius Maslekovas, Timo Steiner, and Toivo Tulev) have composed new works for an unusual formation: two clarinets, oboe, accordion, violin, viola, and electronics. These compositions are complemented by works from Latvian composers Jānis Petraškevičs and Gundega Šmite, as well as LENsemble’s founder, Vykintas Baltakas. This concert will showcase a broad spectrum of Baltic contemporary music, encompassing different influences, generations, and colors.
Sponsored by Vilnius City Municipality and Lithuanian Council for Culture. Live-broadcast by Klassikaraadio and EMP TV.