As I wrote in the previous post, here are some very short notes about
Lithuanian music.  I cannot recommend its discovery too highly, this is
one of the most exciting countries in contemporary European music.

Much information, and some outstanding records, scores and books,
can be found at

The Lithuanian Music Information and Publishing Centre,
URL: http://www.mic.lt
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Address: A. Mickeviciaus 29, 2600 Vilnius
Phone/Fax: +370 (2) 72 6986

It undoubtedly is one of the most active and competent MICs.  Their New
Lithuanian Music Series on CD is truly remarkable, for the music itself,
committed performers, but also editorial work of rare quality.  I think
that they will join the IAMIC before long.

Lithuanian music is very rich and original, drawing on ancient traditions,
unexpected affinities (with India for instance), others less surprising
(Polish avantgarde rather than Russia) but without any loss of personality.
It also was one of the most independent from Moscow's diktats under the
Soviet occupation, and several composers can be regarded as modernists.

To quote a few names, Ciurlionis (1875-1911) is a central figure, mostly
as a painter whose works still are inspirational to contemporary composers,
but also as a musician close both to German Romanticism and to Symbolism
and Scriabin.  His particular sense of temporal unfolding is very special
and foreshadows later features in Baltic music.  In the following period,
Gruodis (1884-1948) and Kacinskas (1907) can be quoted, the first one
as a harmonically innovative musician whose works conveys a troubling
melancholy, the second more modernist, not so far from Aarre Merikanto,
with slightly more harshness and alacrity.

After WWII, Juzeliunas (1916) and Balsys (1919-1984) were major forces
in protecting and asserting Lithuania's musical independence, partly
relying on folklore, but also achieving coherent harmonic systems, both
with a strong sense of thematic modelling and "plastic beauty".  If you
can, try Juzeliunas's African Sketches, his Concerto for violin and organ,
his Diptych for violin and organ (if anybody has his symphonies from No.
3 on, I would love to hear them), and Balsys's Dramatic Frescoes and Violin
Concerto No. 3 (only a solo violin version was completed).  Earlier works
by Balsys, such as the 2d violin concerto or the ballet Egle, have more
immediate appeal, but they remain closer to Chostakowitch and Russian
symphonists.

In the following generation, at least two composers can be regarded as
essential on the international level.  Balakauskas' (1937), serialism
combines quasi-Webernian tautness with a tremendous vitality, timbral
seduction, rhythmic complexity which never obscures the general line -- he
often uses consonant intervals but the effect is by no means "neo-Romantic"
or even minimalist.  Kutavicius (1932) is the opposite and complementary
force, deeply rooted in immemorial traditions, but also eager to find new
settings for performances, far from the conventional concert hall.  His
timeless oratorios are particularly impressive.  I would like to add
Bajoras (1934), maybe the closest to the essence of Lithuanian folk music
and language, while literal quotations are almost always avoided.  His
particular poetry is challenging and often deeply endearing.  Senderovas
(1945) is another vivid composer, not so far from Schnittke sometimes,
and who represents the revival of the great Jewish Lithuanian culture in
Vilnius (this town used to be called the Jerusalem of Eastern Europe before
the Shoah -- Baltic Jewish communities were among those who were most
completely annihilated by the Holocaust, and nothing was done during the
Soviet era to let them come to life again).  Tamulionis (1949) draws on
rather simple musical layers, but his fine sense of textures and temporal
suspension lends them a luminous, evocative quality.  Jurgis Juozapaitis
(1942) may seem relatively traditional, sometimes referring to the
"sutartine" (traditional Lithuanian musical form using short motives and
astringent interval combinations).  His 1st Symphony "Rex" is a superb
fresco based on Ciurlionis's painting.  Among the best-known composers in
the West, one also finds Barkauskas (1931), sometimes closer to Russian
music, but also to Schonberg: his recent Konzertstuck No. 2 for
orchestra, quite classical, nevertheless is attractive and brilliantly
orchestrated.

In the 1980s, Lithuanian music turned to Neo-Romanticism and minimalism
(minimalism in the Baltic States is by no means an American influence, it
has existed there for many centuries!), but retained a very wide stylistic
range.  A very individual and eloquent composer is Martinaitis (1950),
whose works can be very sharp (Cantus ad futurum, Arma Christi) and also
intensely seducing and polymorphic (Unfinished symphony).  Those looking
for all-encompassing monuments should try the Requiem of Bartulis (1954),
which is not just massive (Bartulis also writes meditative, intimate
chamber music) but extremely powerful in its many contradictory elements.
For myself, I find this more convincing than many better-known
polystylistic works, even by Schnittke, and this work could well become a
"modern classic", together with such variegated pieces as Balakauskas's 2d
and 3d symphonies, Kutavicius's Tree of Earth and a few other Lithuanian
masterworks.  Younger composers are closer to the mainstreams of European
avantgarde, but still draw on the experience of previously quoted masters,
notably Balakauskas.

Of course, I only know a very small part of this captivating repertoire,
but I believe that it is definitely worth discovering and following in its
future evolution.

Best wishes,

Thanh-Tam Le
[log in to unmask]