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In anticipation of the 150th birth anniversary of Čiurlionis, cellist Gleb Pyšniak and pianist Rokas Zubovas have invited composers from the three Baltic States, Žibuoklė Martinaitytė, Arturs Maskats and Mihkel Kerem, to respond to a historical fact related to Čiurlionis. Although Čiurlionis’ works for cello and piano have not survived, it is known that in 1902, while studying in Leipzig, he began composing Konzertstück for cello and orchestra. He mentioned his idea in a letter to a friend and wrote down the four bars of the future work there. How much of it was composed we will probably never know, but we are left with the tiny compositional idea proposed by Čiurlionis. All three composers agreed to write works for cello and piano and dedicate them to Čiurlionis, thus, as it were, building a bridge in time and culture between the composer studying in Leipzig at the beginning of the 20th century and the Baltic countries of today.

The concert will also feature piano miniatures by Čiurlionis, masterfully adapted for cello and piano by cellist Juozas Čelkauskas. The adaptations were created in 1975 to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of Čiurlionis. These miniatures, almost unknown in Lithuania, are a gift, an opportunity and an invitation to Lithuanian cellists to get acquainted with Čiurlionis’ work.

Gleb Pyšniak and Rokas Zubovas have been performing together since 2020, and their repertoire abounds with music by contemporary Lithuanian composers. The duo has released a double vinyl album Legendos (Legends). The concert programme Čiurlionis-Inspired Premieres is their fourth creative programme.