L. Narvilaitė. "Footsteps, Sand, Wind - Here You Came" for piano and large chamber ensemble (world premiere) (cello - Marius Dominykas Sakavičius)

F. Schubert. "Trout Quintet in A major, D. 667 (cello - Povilas Jacunskas)

 

The charismatic piano virtuoso Alexander Paley's ensemble Paleasis is making its debut at the LVSO Concert Hall. The ensemble's debut is marked by the past and the present. The concert programme is centred on the world premiere of the composer Loreta Narvilaitė's work Footsteps, Sand, Wind - Here You Were When You Came (2024), dedicated to the ensemble Paleasis. As the composer says, this work is "a journey through the sounds of music, observing and reflecting on the footsteps that I and others have trodden, which are quickly covered by sand, constantly blown by the wind. The melodic lines therefore keep gliding, gliding, as if they were barefoot skating on the hard-packed sand of Smiltyne. But they keep returning to their home, the double tonic F/D, and for the entire 16 minutes of the work they live in its sound field."

 

The colour of the sound of Loreta Narvilaitė's composition is determined by echoes of Lithuanian songs, and the motif of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's piano concerto is also present. The unique composition of the ensemble is embodied in the work - the expressive melodies of the piano and string instruments are constantly intertwined, swinging up and down, and the signals of the wind instruments, like beacons, show the way. At the end of the work, the static and unhurried flow of sounds and flickering states are replaced by the soloist's unexpected piano passages. They are like sudden gusts of wind, causing waves, washing away feet and sand. All that remains is the memory that you came here... 

 

Programmatical and national allusions can also be heard in other works of the concert. The Sextet in C major, Op. 37 by the Hungarian composer Ernst von Dohnányi (1877-1960), a composer of late romanticism and early modernism, is a synthesis of traditional forms and new harmonic ideas. The Sextet, scored for the unusual combination of piano, clarinet, French horn, violin, viola and cello, reveals a wide palette of melodic and harmonic colours and textures, marked by Hungarian shades. The composition of the Trout Quintet in A major, D. 667 by the Austrian Romantic Franz Schubert (1797-1828) is also unique: the juxtapositions of violin, viola, cello, double bass and piano enrich and extend the sound of a conventional piano quintet. The title of this work comes from the composer's famous Lied song "Die Forelle" (The Trout), whose lively and sparkling melodic theme is varied in the fourth movement of the composition.

 

Paleasis debuted on 26 June 2022. Palealeis was presented at the concert of the Pažaislis Music Festival at the Kaunas State Philharmonic on 26 June 2018. "Not a one-day project, but an ensemble that rehearses regularly, performs and develops - this is an old dream of mine. I am very happy that this dream has been realised in Lithuania. I have gathered 11 professional musicians and like-minded people with the aim of playing well-known and rarely performed masterpieces of classical music and premieres that are still in the making on stage", - says piano virtuoso A.

 

"Paleasis" actively performs all over Lithuania, and during the three years of its existence the ensemble has become a guest of the audience in many major Lithuanian cities and neighbouring towns. In 2023, Paleasis' first tour took place in the pianist's native Moldova, at the Chisinau Philharmonic, where the ensemble was highly praised by audiences and critics alike, who called the concert "undeniably magical and unforgettable". Paleasis also received excellent reviews during their tour of France, at the Moulin d'Ande Festival, where their music-making was described as "not at festival level, but at philharmonic level."

 

Paleasis is distinguished by its unique line-up of professional musicians, which makes it possible to transform the music-making process into a laboratory of chamber music-making that opens up a wide range of possibilities of learning about the repertoire and each other. "I appreciate the professionalism of my stage partners and the taste of the Lithuanian audience, so together with the ensemble we are constantly looking for opportunities to expand our repertoire and to surprise and delight Lithuanian listeners with it," says Paley.