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The orchestral music concert dedicated to the 150th birth anniversary of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis reveals a wealth of colour, imagery and a broad context of the period in which Čiurlionis lived as well as current reflection on him. Čiurlionis’ inexhaustible creativity, both musical and artistic, inspires many works of art, and composers are particularly active in reflecting on it, creating opuses in various genres dedicated to Čiurlionis, or inspired by him. Along the symphonic masterpieces that emerged at the beginning of the 20th century – the magnificent German composer Richard Strauss, the paragon of French impressionist Claude Debussy and Čiurlionis – the concert includes one of the finest dedications to Čiurlionis: the Symphony-concerto Kalnų sonata (Sonata of the Mountains) for piano and orchestra by the famous Lithuanian composer Osvaldas Balakauskas, written in 1975 and dedicated to Čiurlionis’ 100th birth anniversary.

The work subtly touches on Čiurlionis’ genius musical and artistic legacy, allowing us to grasp the profound affinity between the art of different epochs, echoing the spiritual closeness to Čiurlionis felt by the whole nation, expressed in a modern musical language. As Balakauskas has often said, Kalnų sonata (Sonata of the Mountains) was inspired by the idea that there are various pictorial sonatas in Čiurlionis’ oeuvre, and that Sonata of the Mountains does not exist... And after all, in many of Čiurlionis’ paintings, an important element of the composition is a mountain or mountains. Kalnų sonata (Sonata of the Mountains) can be called an atypical example of Balakauskas’ output. Here the composer reveals himself as a neoclassicist (in terms of the classical structure of the form), a neo-romantic (in terms of his programmatic inspirations) and an impressionist (in terms of the richness of his timbral colour). All of this is linked by a characteristic feature of Balakauskas’ entire oeuvre – a vibrant dynamism, close to jazz.  

This is not the first time that Petras Geniušas, who has been involved in projects devoted to Čiurlionis in a variety of genres (from classical to modern jazz), will play the magnificent Kalnų sonata (Sonata of the Mountains) with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra. But this time, for the first time, Balakauskas’ work will be conducted by the charismatic French maestro Victorien Vanoosten, who last year became the main guest conductor. His interpretation of the concert’s very solid programme is therefore a promising artistic intrigue and an extraordinary gift for the Čiurlionis Year.