About

Pianist Darius Mažintas stands out not only by his striking interpretations and distinctive musical images (he has won prizes in international competitions and has been invited to perform at festivals), but also by his unique artistic activity and ideas. The pianist is the mastermind of educational music projects and organiser of charity concerts. In April and December 2022, Looking at the Stars, a Canadian Charity Foundation founded by philanthropist Dmitry Kanovich, organised two unique concerts in Irpin and Izium in Ukraine, both devastated by Russian aggressors. Believing in the power of Music, Mažintas, together with the above-mentioned Foundation, organises classical music events in prisons, where he performs together with renowned Lithuanian and foreign artists. In 2023, the pianist appeared in the official programme of the NATO Summit in Vilnius.

As a sincere supporter of Ukraine, Mažintas includes the works of Ukrainian composers in his programmes. This recital focuses on the piano works of Valentyn Silvestrov, perhaps the most famous contemporary Ukrainian composer. The composer currently lives in exile in Berlin. His life during the late Soviet era was difficult, he was expelled from the Composers’ Union and had to withdraw from public life.

Silvestrov is well known to the Lithuanian music lovers – he has visited the Gaida festival, and the prestigious American label Naxos, in cooperation with the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society, has already released two CDs of his symphonic works, recorded by the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra and famous soloists.

Silvestrov is particularly interested in the genre of the miniature, about which, when interviewed in Vilnius by Kristupas Bubnelis, he said: “The relationship between composer and his composition is akin to that of parents and children: admiring, enjoying, sometimes getting angry... One has also to live in the small forms, whereas when writing a symphony, it is like being in one unit. I remember one experience in my youth: I was listening to Beethoven’s Sonata in G major. Suddenly I had the strange idea that Beethoven seemed to be listening to every corner of the room. He not only made beautiful music, but he sniffed out the whole musical space like a dog. This image led to the idea that when composing the composer is admiring, not just writing, giving away and forgetting.” Pianist Mažintas’ recital will aim to reveal all those cosy “corners” of the piano miniatures, the moods and the composer’s distinctive style.