The Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO), one of the most refined and well-known Lithuanian orchestras, was established in 1940 by the composer, conductor and pianist Balys Dvarionas. From 1964 to 2015 it was led by Juozas Domarkas, and since the autumn of 2015, Modestas Pitrėnas has served as its artistic director and principal conductor. Robertas Šervenikas is the orchestra’s second conductor, while Juozas Domarkas is the honorary conductor.
The orchestra presents annually around 50 concerts in the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall and on other stages in Lithuania, extensively tours abroad. It has visited many European countries, Japan, South America and South Korea, and has given concerts in some of the most prominent concert venues of the world, such as Musikverein in Vienna, the philharmonic halls of Cologne and Berlin, the Barbican Centre in London, Alte Oper in Frankfurt, the Berwaldhallen and Town Hall in Stockholm, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Metropolitan and Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Festival Hall in Osaka, the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai, the Cultural Centre of Thailand, and many others. The LNSO has also performed at prestigious festivals, such as the Schleswig-Holstein, Musica Romantica in Switzerland, the Moscow Stars, the Russian Winter, the Warsaw Autumn, the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival in Warsaw, the Prague Spring, and festivals in Stresa, Merano, Rheingau, Ludwigsburg, Riga, Gstaad, and elsewhere.
The LNSO frequently goes on concert tours, among which the most noteworthy were the appearances in Thailand and India in 2017. In 2018, the orchestra embarked on its Tour of the Centenary, performing in the Great Guild Hall in Riga, concert halls in Poland, the Janáček
Festival in the Czech Republic, and the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm. In 2019, the LNSO gave concerts in Latvia, and in the beginning of 2020 – in Poland.
The orchestra has been conducted by important historical personalities and world-famous masters of the baton, such as B. Dvarionas, S. Sondeckis, J. Aleksa, V. Fedoseyev, M. Rostropovich, K. Penderecki, K. Masur, J. Frantz, Ch. Diederich, N. Järvi, Ch. Spering, R. Hickox, Ch. Eschenbach, O. Grangean and M. Gražinytė-Tyla among others. The LNSO has collaborated with many famous performers, instrumentalists and vocalists of different generations and nationalities, including the singers M. Caballé, J. Norman, S. Larin, V. Urmana and V. Noreika, the pianists E. Gilels, D. Bashkirov, D. Pollack, S. Tiempo, F. Kempf, M. Rubackytė and P. Geniušas, the violinists G. Kremer, L. Kogan, V. Spivakov, J. Rachlin, S. Krylov, Ph. Graffin, A. Steinbacher and V. Čepinskis, the cellists M. Maisky, I. Monighetti, D. Geringas, D. Ishizaka and M. Rostropovich, and the viola player Y. Bashmet.
The basis of the LNSO’s rich repertoire consists of oratorios and symphonies from various epochs, as well as modern contemporary music, with an emphasis on well-known works by Lithuanian composers, from the symphonic poems by M.K. Čiurlionis to works by B. Dvarionas, E. Balsys, J. Juzeliūnas, A. Rekašius, F. Bajoras, V. Barkauskas, O. Balakauskas, V. Bartulis, O. Narbutaitė, R. Šerkšnytė, A. Malcys, A. Šenderovas and V. Germanavičius, as well as first symphonies by many young composers. Since 1991, the LNSO has regularly participated in the Gaida contemporary music festival. The orchestra also presents music by Lithuanian composers on Euroradio broadcasts.
The LNSO’s recordings have been released in Lithuania and abroad (Melodiya, Marco Polo, Col legno, Ella Records, Naxos, Avie Records). The list of the latest audio recordings includes a CD of works by Ukrainian composer Valentyn Silvestrov, released by Naxos in August 2020 and featuring the LNSO, conductor Christopher Lyndon-Gee, singer Inna Galatenko and pianist Oleg Bezborodko. In the autumn of 2020, Arvo Pärt’s CD Lamentate with pianist Onutė Gražinytė, cellist Edward King, the LNSO and conductor M. Pitrėnas was recorded at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall and Vilnius Record Studio and released by the German record label Accentus Music. Critics of the famous German music magazine Fono Forum gave this sound recording the highest 5-star rating. At the beginning of the 2021, the prestigious Finnish record company Ondine released Ž. Martinaitytė’s CD Saudade with the LNSO, the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra (LCO), conductor Giedrė Šlekytė and pianist Gabrielius Alekna.
