“UNKNOWN KLOVA” CONCERT PROGRAMME

What do we really know about Vytautas Klova? The legendary opera “Pilėnai” is the first association for many. However, behind the composer’s legacy and one of the best-known Lithuanian operas lies much more: nearly 400 musical works, including other operas, decades of teaching, and even another, less familiar side of the artist – visual art.

This is the different Klova that the “Lietuva” Ensemble invites audiences to discover. To mark the 100th anniversary of V. Klova’s birth, the concert “Unknown Klova” will take place on October 15 at 19:00 at St Catherine’s Church. The programme prepared by the “Lietuva” choir, soloists and national instruments orchestra will be more than just a concert – it will be an intimate evening of discovery, inviting audiences to rediscover one of the most prominent Lithuanian composers of the 20th century – his music, personality and lesser-known stories from his life.

Listeners will embark on a musical journey through different stages and genres of the composer’s work – from sensitive interpretations of folk songs to “Pilėnai”. The programme will feature works familiar to a wider audience, while also promising special discoveries for fans and connoisseurs of Lithuanian music and classical music who appreciate melodic writing, epic lyricism and drama, subtle yet expressive vocal and choral textures, the masterful colours of national instruments and works less frequently performed on stage. The ensemble’s archives will also be opened: works once created or adapted specifically for “Lietuva” performers will return to the stage after having remained unheard for many years. Although written for a national instruments orchestra, their sound conveys the scale and symphonic character of a very large orchestra.

Performers: State “Lietuva” Ensemble Choir and Orchestra

Soloists: Smiltė Murencevaitė-Janušienė, Justina Kaminskaitė, Gintarė Kulikauskytė, Ignas Ščesnulevičius, Martynas Žukauskas, Jevgenijus Kovalčukas, Domas Saulevičius and others

Chief Conductor: Egidijus Kaveckas
Artistic Director: Giedrė Kriaučionytė-Vosylienė
Music Coordinator: Giedrius Svilainis
Choirmaster: Asta Balnionytė-Grajevskė