The Art-Music, Literature and Linguistics Forum

Sasnauskas - what a glorious download, thank you ! 'New' composer, & my favourite kind of work; playing it now...lovely way to finish an evening !

Hope there may be many more from the Baltics !

Many thanks also.  Love it.

I have put in the downloads section a recording of Mikalojus Čiurlionis's Kęstutis symphonic overture. Čiurlionis, I understand, wrote this as a symphonic overture, but never got around to orchestrating it, leaving it only in piano form. in 1995, the Lithuanian musicologist Jurgis Juozapaitis http://www.mic.lt/en/classical/persons/info/juozapaitisjurgis (http://www.mic.lt/en/classical/persons/info/juozapaitisjurgis) restored and orchestrated it.  I understand this was recorded privately for Lithuanian radio, though it was never actually broadcast (yet).

Kęstutis (1297-1382) was a medieval monarch (grand-duke) of Lithuania.

Hello from Colin (Dundonnell) :)

I had previously only heard the Symphonic Poems "The Sea" and "In the Forest" by Ciurlionis.......so it is very nice to hear this further short work by a talented artist (in every sense of the word) who died tragically young.

There is an interesting website detailing Ciurlionis's compositions-

http://ciurlionis.licejus.lt/Muzika_en.htm (http://ciurlionis.licejus.lt/Muzika_en.htm)

It is not earth-shattering music-being very much in the romantic-nationalist vein of its time-but very attractive nevertheless and we are grateful to you for the chance to hear it.

Help!

I have downloaded the Ciurlionis 3 times and have yet to be able to find it in my library.  I have tried under Ciurlionis, Mikolojus and even Kestutis to no avail.  I know that sometimes works get listed by either first or last name and occasionally by the title of the work but I cannot find anything.  I have actually seen it download 3 times so it has to be somewhere.  Rather than go through my lengthy list of compositons saved, I'd appreciate it if someone can help me on this.  Odd, no?
Thanks,
Malito

Thanks, anyway!  I finally decided to go through the list and there it was under 01, thankfully toward the beginning of my huge list.  Such a wonderful piece of music to have especially since so little was written by Ciurlionis!  Thanks anyway!

Malito

I have put in the Lithuanian music downloads section some music by the composer Jurgis Karnavičius (1884-1941).  Every so often, one feels one has made "a discovery" and Karnavičius is one such.  I particularly recommend the symphonic poem Ulalume (1917, after Edgar Allen Poe) and Gražina's arias from the opera Gražina (she has two arias, both are good).   With the former I get a combination of Schumann and (I know this will make some readers' toes curl....too bad ;D) John Williams' music The Map Room scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.  With the arias I am getting a bit of Donizetti's Il Dolce Suono, but even more that is wonderful in its own right.  (There's an even better version of one of her arias here - http://youtu.be/nFNFUxdyXmw (http://youtu.be/nFNFUxdyXmw) )

I really really hope people enjoy this upload, especially the pieces I mentioned, and would love to hear any commentary, especially if more "musicological" than mine!


Some info about the composer, who is sometimes known in Russian as Yury Karnovic (from Wikipedia):



Jurgis Karnavičius (23 April 1884 – 22 December 1941) was a Lithuanian composer of classical music and a forerunner of the development of Lithuanian operatic works.

Karnavičius' son, also named Jurgis Karnavičius (1912–2001), was a pianist and the long-time rector of the Lithuanian Academy of Music. His grandson, Jurgis Karnavičius (born 1957), is a concert pianist.

Biography

Karnavičius was born in Kaunas, Lithuania, which at the time was a part of the Russian Empire. After completing his basic education in his homeland, he began the study of Law in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Music had always been his first love, and he began to simultaneously study music theory and composition, and this passion soon superseded his pursuit of a career in the legal profession. His primary instrument was the viola. Eventually he became a professor at the Conservatory of Music in the now renamed city of Leningrad. During this period he began experimenting with his own theories of musical composition and began writing his own works.

In 1927, Karnavičius returned to Lithuania, which had only regained its independence as a sovereign nation less than ten years earlier. In addition to teaching at the Conservatory of Music in Kaunas, he opted to play the viola with the orchestra of the State Opera for a number of years. Having a personal desire write a new opera himself, and under the influence of the renewed national pride released by Lithuania's regaining its independence, Karnavičius began to write his first opera, Gražina, which premiered on February 16, 1933. It had incorporated more than forty melodies borrowed from Lithuanian folk songs, and was a popularly acclaimed success. It is considered among the first of the "Lithuanian National Operas." This was followed in 1937 by the opera Radvila Perkūnas, which was about the Lithuanian nobleman, Krzysztof Mikołaj Radziwiłł.

Selected works

Stage

Gražuolė (Beauty; La Bellote), Ballet in 1 act, Op.17 (1927); libretto by Pavel Petrov
Gražina, Opera in 4 acts (1932); libretto by Kazys Inčiūra after poem by Adam Mickiewicz
Radvila Perkūnas, Opera in 4 acts, 7 scenes (1936); libretto by Balys Sruoga
Barocco, Ballet in 1 act (1938); libretto by Lesley Blanch
Apsišaukėlis (The Impostor), Ballet in 1 act (1940); libretto by Helene France
Jaunimas žaidžia (Youth at Play; Jeunesse s'amuse), Ballet in 1 act (1940); libretto by the composer

Orchestral
Džigūnas, Lithuanian Dance
Groteskas (Grotesque), Lithuanian Dance
Tema su variacijomis (Theme with Variations) (1912)
Ulalumė, Symphonic Poem, Op.8 (1917)
Lietuviškoji fantazija (Lithuanian Fantasy), Op.15 (1925)
Ovalus portretas (The Oval Portrait), Symphonic Poem, Op.18 (1927)

Chamber music

String Quartet in F major
Variations on the Lithuanian Folk Song "Siuntė mane motinėlė" for violin and piano (1907)
String Quartet No.1, Op.1 (1913)
2 Romance-Caprices for violin solo, Op.4 (1915)
String Quartet No.2, Op.6 (1917, published 1928)
Poema for cello and piano (1917)
String Quartet No.3, Op.10 (1922)
String Quartet No.4 (1925)
Lietuviškoji fantazija (Lithuanian Fantasy) for string quartet, Op.15 (1925)

Piano

Piano Sonata (1909)
Variacijos originalia tema (Variations on Original Theme) (1910)
Šokis (Dance) (1916)
Lopšinė (Lullaby) (1929)


Vocal

Gluosnį linguoja (Swinging Willow) for voice and viola (1916); words by Konstantin Balmont
Serenada (Serenade) for voice and viola (1916); words by Afanasy Fet
Žiedlapėliai putokšlio (Milkwort Petals) for voice and viola (1916); words by Konstantin Balmont
Daina (Song) for voice and viola (published 1924); words by Percy Bysshe Shelley
To for voice and viola (published 1924); words by Percy Bysshe Shelley
2 Romances after Alexander Pushkin, Op.7 (published 1924)

Mmm...nice find, Mr. Christopher ! Not into the opera extracts, I'm afraid, but enjoying the orchestral pieces now.

Christopher,

A belated 'tks' for uploading the Ciurlionis 'Kestutis' overture (I've only recently got round to listening to it).  Your efforts to find this are much appreciated - without objecting to his 'art' activities, it's maybe a pity he didn't do composing full time. Since hearing this, I've also downloaded some the orchestral works of his (from e-music) and they all provide a most enjoyable listen, so once again, many thanks.

Richard Moss

Thank you Richard, I hope you enjoy! What pieces of his are available on e-music? He is certainly a composer of whose works I would like to hear more.

Christopher,

The three pieces I found on e-music were: 
De Profundis (cantata for choir & orchestra); Symphonic Poem 'Jura' (The Sea) and Symphonic Poem 'Miske' (In the Forest), which together formed a complete CD by the Lithuanian SO (on a label called  Northern Flowers - I think Russian maybe??). 

They also have another CD (Marco Polo) with the 2 symphonic poems plus 5 Preludes (orchestrated).  There are also some CDs of his piano music and chamber music.

Once again, many tks for unearthing this lovely overture.

Best wishes

Richard

amazon has his Complete Orchestral works here:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008C3AT12/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1IGK84HO0J6U1

I uploaded some Lithuanian music yesterday into the downloads section.  I would draw particular attention to Gruodis's Funeral March (Gedulingas maršas) from the Šarūnas suite. ("Šarūnas, Duke of Dainava" was a 1911 play by Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius.)

As has been noted elsewhere on here by others, Lithuanian music is often very restrained, perhaps too much so, and fails to sparkle by comparison with its Latvian and Estonian equivalents.

I would say that Gruodis's music by and large falls into this description.  The Funeral March starts that way too - and then about 3 minutes in it suddenly takes off, becoming fabulously over-the-top, and sustains this, even crescendoing. Šarūnas must have been quite a guy to deserve such a send-off! It is almost camp.  It certainly sounds like film music (John Williams comes to mind) - except that it was written in 1930.  Musical snobs will probably wrinkle their noses in disgust, but for everyone else - enjoy!

Sincere thanks to Latvian for Balakauskas' symphonies 1 & 2!

Brian

I put here in order do not open a new topic but it covers also Latvia and Estonia
http://balticgems.blogspot.it/

I have put into the downloads section a suite from the ballet Jūratė ir Kastytis by Juozas Gruodis (1884-1948). The recording is from an old Melodiya LP.

This suite contains 8 pieces, as follows:

1. Rytiečių Šokis (Oriental Dance)
2. A La Chopin   
3. Valsas (Waltz)
4. Jūros Daina (Song of the Sea)
5. Koralų Šokis (Coral Dance)
6. Armonika (Accordion)
7. Rauda (Lament)
8. Lietuviškas Šokis (Lithuanian Dance)

There is a different suite from the ballet on a recent CD, but it's commercially available so I can't upload it here. Details here - http://www.mic.lt/en/database/classical/releases/931/ (http://www.mic.lt/en/database/classical/releases/931/)

A lot of rare Melodiya recordings of Lithuanian Classical Music here:
https://www.pakartot.lt/label/melodija

A bizarre mix of pop, folk and classical, with minimal documentation. Some really interesting discs here, though. Thanks for the link!

I am really heappy to find the whole opera of Banaitis. Cristopher - You are Great!

yes  wonderful.. thanks for getting this!!