Balys Dvarionas was born in Liepaja, Latvia on June 19, 1904. Raised in a musically inclined family, Dvarionas learned to play the violin, organ, and piano from a young age. He attended a middle school of commerce, played the organ in a church, led a Lithuanian choir for several years, and worked as a silent movie pianist. Encouraged by his music teacher, Alfred Kalninš, Dvarionas decided to study composition under Jaseps Vitolis at the Riga Conservatory. However, in 1920, he went to Leipzig instead. There, he studied piano under Robert Teichmüller at the Conservatory and took special music theory and composition courses under Stephan Krohl and Sigfried Karg-Elert. After graduating from the Conservatory in 1924, he spent two years studying piano in Berlin under Egon Petri. Dvarionas was a multi-talented musician, excelling in piano, teaching, conducting, and composing. He quickly became one of the most famous figures in Lithuanian music. From 1924 onwards, he performed throughout Lithuania and later abroad. In 1926, he began teaching at the Music School, and from 1949 onwards, he taught at the Music Academy in Vilnius. He also conducted various orchestras, including the Kaunas Radiophone Orchestra and the Vilnius City Orchestra, which he founded with architect Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis in 1939. Dvarionas passed away on August 23, 1972, after battling a severe illness. His last performance was on May 12, 1972, with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra. His first attempt at composing was for the play Varnal.
