Lossimuusika “Unda, unda… inundare”. ČIURLIONIS 150
Project is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of M. K. Čiurlionis
Gleb PYŠNIAK | cello (www.glebpysniak.com)
Rokas ZUBOVAS | piano (www.zubovas.lt)
Concert programme:
M. K. Čiurlionis, Ž. Martinaitytė, A. Maskats, M. Kerem
As we approach the 150th anniversary of M. K. Čiurlionis’ birth, it is particularly important not
only to achieve the composer’s music to be heard as widely as possible on an international scale,
but also to involve as many different musicians and artists as possible in dissemination of his music
and his name today. M. K. Čiurlionis’ music, his personality remains relevant and contemporary,
inspiring today’s and tomorrow’s generations of performers and composers, and also presents the
Lithuanian identity to the world.
Although the composer’s oeuvre does not include any works for cello, it is known that while
studying at the Leipzig Conservatoire he had begun to compose a Konzertstuck for cello and piano
in spring 1902. A four-bar fragment of the work, which the composer wrote down in a letter to his
friend, the composer E. Morawski, has survived. Efforts to include M. K. Čiurlionis’ works in the
repertoire of cellists were first made in anticipation of M. K. Čiurlionis’ 100th anniversary. At that
time, the Lithuanian cellist Juozas Čelkauskas adapted ten of M. K. Čiurlionis’ piano miniatures for
cello and piano in a very professional and attractive way. These adaptations were prepared for the
press and published in Moscow in a small edition in 1975. Unfortunately, this publication never
reached Lithuania and J. Čelkauskas’ excellent adaptations never became part of the repertoire of
Lithuanian cellists. In order to ensure that the music of M. K. Čiurlionis can be included in the
repertoire of Lithuanian and Baltic cellists as the 150th anniversary approaches, as well as to make
sure that the creative connections and interpretations of M. K. Čiurlionis’ legacy spread beyond
Lithuania’s borders, cellist Gleb Pyšniak and pianist Rokas Zubovas from Vilnius are initiating a
project dedicated to the 150th anniversary of M. K. Čiurlionis’ birth, Čiurlionis. A Musical Greeting
from Vilnius.
Preparations for the project, embodiment of new works, meetings of Baltic composers and
performers, music recordings and rehearsals will take place at M.K. Čiurlionis House in Vilnius, in
order to present the city and the venue as the creative centre, residence and source of inspiration for
this important project. Inspired by this idea, the three acclaimed middle-generation composers of
the Baltic States, Žibuoklė Martinaitytė (Lithuania), Arturs Maskats (Latvia) and Mihkel Kerem
(Estonia), will each compose a work for cello and piano dedicated to M.K. Čiurlionis. The duo’s
concert programme will also feature all ten of J. Čelkauskas’ adaptations of piano works by M.K.
Čiurlionis.
It is planned to perform this programme on the occasion of the anniversary of M.K. Čiurlionis’ birth
in all three Baltic States, with its premiere at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Concert Hall in
Vilnius on rhe 27th of April 2025.
Programme:
M. K. Čiurlionis (1875-1911) (arr. for cello and piano by J. Čelkauskas):
Prelude-Dedication, VL 169
Nocturne fis-moll, VL 178
Nocturne cis-moll, VL 183
Prelude fis-moll, VL 185
Pastorale VL 187
Prelude f-moll, VL 197
Prelude h-moll, VL 182
Prelude d-moll, VL 239
Prelude a-moll, VL 312
Ž. Martinaitytė
“Unda,unda…inundare…”
A. Maskats
“Čiurlionis in Luznava manor. Plenair, 1906.”
M. Kerem
“A Haunting from the Past”
