DAINOS LAIKE
Dedicated to the celebration of the 80th anniversary of composer Giedrius Kuprevičius.
Participants
GIEDRIUS KUPREVIČIUS
Artists
VIKTORIJA MIŠKŪNAITĖ, soprano
JURGIS JARAŠIS, tenor
ŽIVILĖ KUDIRKAITĖ, piano
Programme
Songs by Giedrius Kuprevičius, piano improvisations
and stories about the stories behind the songs.
Giedrius Kuprevičius, one of Lithuania's best-known composers, a popular essayist, polemist and teacher, will celebrate his 80th birthday on 8 April this year. The concert in Užutrakis will not only be an opportunity to hear many of his compositions, but also to congratulate the esteemed Maestro on the eve of his birthday with an ovation from the audience. Songs written in different years and stamped with the marks of time will be performed. Each song has its own unique story, and the fact that many of them are still being performed today shows that the composer's great music is closely linked to the poetic sources he chose, which are still alive today. "This chamber music concert marks the start of my series of anniversary concerts. The concert will feature songs composed in different years, and I will tell the stories of the songs - how they were born, what adventures they have had, what their lives have been like in different times."
The composer has composed a musical "Fire Hunt with the Moors" (1975), which is very popular in Lithuania, and the song "Kregždutės" is one of the most famous songs of this musical in Lithuania. The composer regularly writes music in traditional genres as well: operas, symphonies, chamber works, oratorios and vocal cycles. He also composes music for drama productions and films.
G. Kuprevičius has been awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of the Grand Duke Gediminas of Lithuania (2003), the Bravo-2003 Award for Merit in Pop Culture (2004), the Government Prize for Culture and Arts (2006), the National Prize for Culture and Arts (2013), and many more.In 1980, the composer founded the Kaunas Music Theatre electronic music group Argo (which existed until 1987); from 1957, he was a regular performer in the Kaunas Carillon, and in 1998 he was appointed chief bell-ringer of Kaunas. In 1987-1988 Kuprevičius was Editor-in-Chief of the Lithuanian Television music programmes, and for a long time hosted the LTV programme Kontrapunktas. In 1990-1999 he taught at the Faculty of Arts of Vytautas Magnus University, and from 2000-2012 he was the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities of KTU (on his initiative, the Department of Sound and Video Arts Technologies was opened at the university, the Computer Music Club was active, and the KTU radio station Gaudeamus was founded). In 1992-1993 Giedrius Kuprevičius was the vice-mayor of Kaunas City Municipality. He is a member of the Lithuanian Composers' Union, the Lithuanian Musicians' Union and the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences.
Viktorija Miškūnaitė Graduated from the Academy of Music and Theatre of Lithuania (classes of A. Stasiūnaitė and A. Krikščiūnaitė). In 2013-2014 - at the Verbier Festival Academy and at the OpernWerkstatt Festival in Sigrisville (both in Switzerland) with Peter Konwitschny, and in 2017 - at the bel canto Academy of Rodolfo Celletti (Italy) in Martina Franca.) Since 2015 V. Miškūnaitė has been a soloist of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre.
Atlika's concert repertoire includes songs and opera arias by Lithuanian, Italian, French, German, Russian and Japanese composers. She has performed roles in large-scale works such as Handel's oratorio The Resurrection, Brahms's German Requiem, van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Rachmaninov's poem The Bells, Schoenberg's opera Moses and Aaron, and the role of Katherina von Bonn in Kuprevičius' thesis opera Luther's Doors. She has collaborated with the Vilnius City Opera, Lithuanian National and Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestras, Lithuanian, St. Christopher's and Klaipėda Chamber Orchestras, Čiurlionis Quartet, etc.
Jurgis Jarašius studied at the Academy of Music of the Vytautas Magnus University and in 2018 received a Master's Degree in Music Performance from the Faculty of Music of the Lithuanian State University (prof. Sabina Martinaitytė). During his studies he participated in the ERASMUS exchange programme and studied at the world-renowned Music Academy of Salzburg Mozarteum University (prof. A. Macco), Austria. The soloist performs in operas, musicals, operettas in Kaunas and Klaipėda State Music Theatres, participates in various musical projects. His most famous roles in musicals and operas include Roland (G. Kuprevičius' Fire Hunt with the Wild Boars), Alberas (F. Wildhorn's Count Montecristo), Lukas (A. Lippa's The Addams Family), Prince (A. Dvořák's The Mermaid). The performer is a winner of first prizes and Grand prix awards at international competitions in Italy, Poland and Portugal, and has been honoured for his active cultural activities with several acknowledgements from the President of the Republic of Lithuania, the Mayor of Kaunas and honorary scholarships. The singer has been extensively trained in masterclasses with renowned masters of opera singing, such as Peter Sonn, Barbro Marklund, Gaiva Bandzinaitė, Gennady Kabka, Andreas Macco, Wolfgang Holzmair, Paolo De Napoli, S.D. Kotlinski, C. Santoro, E. Kerl, S. Fisichella. In 2023, J. Jarashi participated in the International Opera Studio "Opera Studio Leipzig" (Germany) and was awarded a special prize for excellence.
Živilė Kudirkaitė- Graduate of the Music Academy of Vytautas Magnus University. She is a laureate of many international competitions, among which the most noteworthy are Valsesia Musica (1st prize) and Citta di Barletta (2nd prize) in Italy. She is an active performer with various chamber ensembles, has given recitals in major Lithuanian cities and has given concerts in Italy and Germany. She has appeared on the stage of Christopher's Picnics, and is also a prizewinner of Klaipėda Piano Masters. Ž. Kudirkaitė works as a lecturer and concertmaster at the VMU Academy of Music and as a pianist at the Kaunas State Music Theatre Orchestra. She is constantly improving her skills at seminars and master classes of renowned pianists Andrėjaus Gavrilovas, Grigory Gruzmanas, Gintaras Januševičius, Jerome Lowenthall, Aleksandras Puliajevs, Andrius Žlabias, etc.
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