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The meaningful tradition of celebrating the 16th of February, the Day of the Restoration of the State of Lithuania, with opuses by Lithuanian composers at the National Philharmonic continues. The event’s dedication is complemented by the 150th birth anniversary of the nation’s genius, Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, celebrated throughout 2025. The programme of this concert, featuring recent works and examples from the golden treasury of Lithuanian contemporary music, is therefore linked to each composer’s contemplation on Čiurlionis.

One of the first dedications to Čiurlionis in Lithuanian music was Dzūkiškos variacijos (Dzūkian Variations), composed in 1974 by the foremost composer, Bronius Kutavičius. Due to the authenticity of a folk song and its rallying force it became a symbol of the emerging national self-awareness that sprouted behind the “Iron Curtain”.

Younger generation composers share their inspirations. “For me, Čiurlionis’ letters to Sofija were a great discovery. Sincere, fragile, full of love and respect, as if coming from another world, the letters resonated within turning into music,” says Donatas Zakaras, who will be presenting not only his newest work, Ar tai kartais ne sapnas? (Isn’t it a Dream?), based on text by Čiurlionis for mixed choir and symphony orchestra, but also Fantazija Čiurlionio temomis (Fantasy on the themes of  Čiurlionis) for piano and symphony orchestra, where the composer has tried to sedulously approach the genius’ subtle piano miniatures (suggested by Lukas Geniušas), and to clothe them in the garb of the symphony orchestra.

In one of his letters to Sofija, Čiurlionis wrote the phrase “Silhouette. Why aren’t you there...”, which inspired Zita Bružaitė’s new symphonic poem Silhouettes. “In Čiurlionis’ paintings, we see recurring images of an angel, a serpent, a mountain, a boat, etc., which come to us either vividly or in a guessable, contoured way, and become barely visible silhouettes against the background of the painting. Since all images have semantic references and can create a narrative, this kind of a programmatic storyline led to the choice of the dominant genre of Romanticism – the symphonic poem”, says Bružaitė.

Antanas Kučinskas’ For Rest (2011), dedicated to Čiurlionis, reveals a modern approach to both the genius’ work and modern compositional technologies. As A. Kučinskas writes, “the composition is based on the material of Čiurlionis’ symphonic poem In the Forest. It has been dismantled down to the ‘elementary particles’: individual notes, micro-segments. By undoing their interconnections, a new, completely different-sounding musical whole was created. The work uses looping, cut&paste, layering and other compositional techniques commonly found in DJ music.”

Raminta Šerkšnytė’s Gloria was premiered in 2018 at a concert Gloria to Lithuania, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Day of Restoration of Independence of Lithuania. Te Deum was premiered in Duisburg, Germany, to celebrate the 700th anniversary of Vilnius. “The main sources of inspiration for Gloria were the celebration of the 16th of February, associated with freedom and light, and Čiurlionis’ painting Karalių pasaka (Fairy Tale of the Kings). It is this painting, in which two kings gaze at a glowing world held in the palms of their hands, that I associate with the birth of the state. And in Te Deum, composed a few years later, I sought to convey the hope and belief that even in the current turbulent times, moving towards the light will be the vision of Vilnius, Lithuania and the world,” says Šerkšnytė.

Patron of the concert – H.E. President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda