The International M.K. Čiurlionis Music Festival presents the programme of the piano duo of Sonata and Rokas Zubovas 

"In the Woods with Grieg, Dvořák, and Čiurlionis
 

This concert programme combines the works of three national composers of three very different nations - Czech, Norwegian, and Lithuanian - into a musical journey. Each of these composers has created what we can today call a musical portrait of that nation. What unites these so different and unique composers, what are the characteristics that bind these three nations and cultures living far apart?

All three composers, Čiurlionis, Grieg and Dvořákas, often drew inspiration from their nations' unforgettable past - legends, fairy tales, old songs - by selecting the characters and themes found there, using characteristic song intonations and rhythmic elements of folk dances. But equally important for them was a sensitive experience of the beauty of the nature of their homeland, which gave birth to a number of easily recognisable musical landscapes inspired by Norway, the Czech Republic or Lithuania.

The programme juxtaposes three very different works representing these composers, united by their intertwining world of legends, fairy tales and fantasies, and by the mysterious and enchanting beauty of the nature that surrounds these worlds.

The debut concert of the Zubov Duo took place in 1997 in Chicago, USA. The duo was invited to perform at the UNESCO Palais des Nations in Geneva and the Royal Palace in Warsaw, as well as many other prestigious venues. Their concerts have taken them to most major cities in America and Canada, to Argentina and Uruguay, to many European countries (United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Latvia, Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Ukraine, Sakhartveli) as well as South Korea and Iran.
The duo has been invited to participate in international festivals: Norway (Norskmusikfestucke, 2001), France (Berlioz, 2003), Italy (Cita di Castello, 2004), Slovenia (Ljubljana, 2010), Germany (Usedom, 2011), Finland (Rauma, 2013), Ukraine (Kiev Easter Music Festival, 2018), the Netherlands (Vocallis, 2021) and Lithuania (Pažaislis, Marius Klavyrai, Klaipėdos pavasaris, Jauna muzika, Permainų muzika, Gaida, Šiauliai Piano Duets Festival, etc.
The pianists carry out educational programmes in Lithuanian cities, in 2005-2019 they organised the annual international music and ecology festival "The Land of the Disobedient" in Neringa.

The Zubov duo has given concerts with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, the Kherson Symphony Orchestra (Ukraine), the Kaunas Symphony Orchestra, the Šiauliai Symphony Orchestra, the Šiauliai Symphony Orchestra, the Klaipėda Symphony Orchestra, the St. The State Vilnius Quartet, the Čiurlionis Quartet, as well as the choirs Aukuras, Aidija, Vilnius University, Jauna muzika, Polifonija, Dainava (USA) and Ave Musica (USA). The duo has performed world premieres of more than 10 works written for them by different composers.

CONCERT PROGRAMME

"In the Forest with Grieg, Dvořák and Čiurlionis

"In the Forest with Grieg, Dvořák and Čiurlionis
 

Mikalojus Konstantinas ČIURLIONIS (1875-1911)

Andante from String Quartet in C minor (transcription for piano 4 hands)

Edvard GRIEG (1843-1907)

From Suite no. 1 "Peer Gynt", Op. 46:
"Morning mood" (Morgenstemning)
"Anitras dance" (Anitras dans)
"In the cave of the King of the Mountains" (I Dovregubbens hall)

From Suite No. 2 "Peer Gynt", Op. 55:
"The kidnapping of the bride. Ingrid's lament" (Bruderovet. Ingrids klage)
"Peer Gynt's homecoming. A stormy evening at sea" (Peer Gynts hjemfart. Stormfull aften på havet)
"Solveigs sang" (Solveigs song)

Antonín & Dvořák (1841-1904)

"From the Bohemian forests" (Ze Šumavy), op. 68, B133:
"Verpimo kambaryje" (At the Apron)
"Prie Juodojo ežero" (At the Black Lake)
"Raganų naktis" (Night of the Filipojakub)
""Sargyboje" (On Waiting)
"Tylūs miškai" (Calmness)
"Neramiais laikais" (Out of Troubled Times) 

Mikalojus Konstantinas ČIURLIONIS

Symphonic poem "In the Woods", VL 1 (transcription for piano 4 hands)

Sonata Zubovienė and Rokas Zubovas, piano duet

More information about the festivalwww.klasika.org