About

This concert, dedicated to the 80th birth anniversary of Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks, will feature works by composers from the three Baltic states. A great friend of Lithuania, Vasks graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre as a double bassist. He speaks Lithuanian fluently and visits Lithuania often. His music poses universal and timeless questions about life and death, hatred and forgiveness, harmony and chaos. The most important aspect of Vasks’ music is its spiritual dimension, which touches the soul of every listener. “Life is full of idealism and love. With my music, I want to give hope, to tell people how wonderful life is and how wonderful people are,” says the composer. The Vilnius String Quartet will perform Vasks’ Third string quartet.

The concert will also feature Fratres, a meditative journey through harmonizing sounds, by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday. In addition, pianist Rokas Zubovas and the Vilnius String Quartet will perform Remigijus Merkelys’ Piano quintet MiKonst, written for the 125th anniversary of M. K. Čiurlionis’ birth, but still highly relevant today. This composition was inspired by musical motifs from Čiurlionis’ works and certain codes hidden in the title MiKonst.