Interview - Andrius Maslekovas

So here we are, 2017, who knows what on earth is in store for the following year. To add more to this blog I thought it was about time to start interviewing composers to introduce them in a more direct manner. So here is our first composer; Andrius Maslekovas. Throughout my years of dealing with the Baltic Andrius has been a composer of the periphery of my work. His work has been an interesting development to observe for multiple reasons, most significantly because he seems to epitomise native Lithuanian concerns, but also because he work seems to be leading him to quite an original path indeed. 

A pupil of Raminta Serksnyte, Andrius's work has had a massive fascination with sonoristic music and the possible avenues available to it. The most significant obsession has been within aritculating and gesturing in a sonoristic landscape, an endeavour which he pursued for his doctoral studies. As he is still a rather 'young' composer I don't wish to pigeonhole him too soon, but I am more than keen to see how he continues to develop as a composer. Without any further ado here is the interview:

As the newest doctor to flower in the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, I thought that gave me a great excuse to turn to you as my first interviewee. I have been very familiar with your work for multiple years now, but for those less familiar can you describe your musical output?

I am very pleased to be the very first interviewee in what seems to be a start of a big great series. It is an honour.

You are starting this interview with a very difficult question (j). If it was possible for me to thoroughly describe my musical output in a verbal form, I don’t think I would be composing music. In my music I usually try to grasp some impressions with my other four senses (taste, sight, touch, smell) and transform it to some kind of aural depiction. It is evident in the titles of my compositions, e.g. The Moments of White Transparency, for violin and piano, Incantation of the Freezing Haze for flute solo, Dissipating Fragrances for violin and accordion etc. In order to achieve that I usually rely on what I call an “articulation of sound quality” which encompasses a heavy and strategic use of timbres, extreme dynamics, precise articulations, specific rhythmical figures that enhance the perception of sound quality, etc. I really liked how my artistic supervisor Raminta Šerkšnytė described my music, she called it a Calligraphical Sonorism. In fact,  sometimes I even employ principles of painting and calligraphy in particular. These principles are evident in such compositions as Calligraphies of the Last Rays for clarinet viola and piano, Winter Calligraphies  for symphony orchestra, Sand Paintings for symphony orchestra, Three Canvasses of Anthracite Coloured Water for 16 strings, etc.

Could you tell us which composers you draw upon within your own work?

There are quite a few composers whose music I find very interesting and who admittedly made a significant influence on my musical style and way of thinking. To mention a few: Toru Takemitsu (especially his music for GAGAKU orchestra, and symphonic pieces), Toshio Hosokawa, Johannes - Maria Staud, Matthias Pintscher, Kaija Saariaho, George Crumb, Martinş Viļums. And here I also have to mention my former professor Marius Baranauskas, whose ouvre was a big inspiration for me even before I started my composition studies. I think I was really lucky to have him as my composition teacher.

As your doctoral thesis was dedicated towards sonorism, what were the discoveries you made during your research?

The thesis is called "Structural and Prestructural Compositional Aspects of Sonoristic Music". It is based upon a hypothesis that structural processes of this music are dependent on certain prestructural aspects, such as particularities our perceptual mechanism, mental sound processing, manifestations of Gestalt principles within different sound parameters, as well as personality type and a unique compositional paradigm. In this thesis I discuss all of these aspects, develop a new analytical approach based on articulation of sound quality and uncover the compositional principles of operating this unique dimension.

I found within your music an interesting clarity and modesty about it, what elements of your compositional process do you believe produces this clarity?

Clarity and modesty... I never heard anyone to describe my music like that. But when I think of it... I guess you're right.  I don't think there is a special technique to add these qualities to your music. I guess they are naturally there, as any kind of music is a reflection of the composers personality. I don't claim to be the most modest person in the world, but maybe that is hidden somewhere deep in my subconsciousness (j).

What are you working on at the minute? And what works are you hoping to create in the future?

At the moment I'm taking a much needed vacation from any creative activities and I don'thave any particular upcoming compositions on my mind. I am open to any commisions and suggestions though... Anyone?

And to round off, let’s do a good ol’ Desert Island Discs which 5 pieces could you not live without?

I'm not a type of person who's always listening to the music, but if I could take 5 pieces to a desert island, I think it would be Rain Tree by Toru Takemitsu, Vertical Song I by Toshio Hosokawa, Apeiron by Johannes Maria Staud and  the last two spots would be for two pieces of my own, can’t pick my favourites just yet (j)… 

For me personally, what has been most curious with Andrius's development is the juxtaposition that has sprouted. In his work Winter Calligraphies the piece has a fascination to and fro between the choir and the orchestra, as well as a fascinating juxtaposition between rich textural gestures and almost modal harmonies. For me this most recent work stands as a testament of where Andrius could evolve as a composer. The rich rolling tectonics of the orchestra crossed with almost 'traditional' choral writing makes for a hypnotic world. His understanding of harmony really compliments and embellishes his fine ear for orchestral colour. His earlier works have always been very direct in their intentions but arguably have been a bit thin, when compared to this work for large orchestra you can see just how aware Andrius is of musical architecture and how it is going to further him in the future. His other works are available on soundcloud, and I do recommend people giving it a listen.


Firstly congratulations again to the now Dr. Andrius Maslekovas, and lets see where his music will take us in the coming years. 

Toivo Tulev: Songs

This week  I wanted to chat about a wonderful work that I have been eager to talk about since I started this blog, but needed the right kind of time for it. The composer in question is Toivo Tulev (1958*) an Estonian composer whose music and personal evolution has fallen at one of the most potent times of Estonia's history.

Toivo Tulev is part of the generation composers just after giants like Arvo Part, and who was a part of the generation setting the stage for Estonia post-Soviet occupation. His music draws on many influences including hard rock, Gregorian chant, sonorism, and minimalism. This collection of influences is almost the epitome of Estonia since the 1990s, everyone freely drawing on everything that they can. The result has meant many profoundly strong composers have come out of the tiny Baltic nation.

The mood of Tulev's works owes a lot of the Arvo Part, I don't say this in the sense that he is a bland copy of Arvo Part, but more that Part opened the door for Tulev's music to really shine. The focus and meditative atmosphere is always beautiful be it in a piece for piano lasting 3 minutes or a half an hour long work for choirs, orchestra and soloists.

This brings me very nicely onto Songs (2005). Songs was commissioned by Paul Hillier while Toivo Tulev was composer in residence with the Estonia Philharmonic Chamber Choir. To quote Hillier's words in the CDs sleeve notes:

...I proposed that he write an extended new work for us, and ventured to suggest that it might be a polychoral piece with various groups of singers and instruments distributed around the concert venue... Paul Hillier

 So in short, the work is meditative collage of religious texts from a multitude of sources including Song of Songs, Cantico espiritual, and Coplas del alma que pena que por ver a Dios. The works are all connected by the sense of yearning; a spiritual longing to be closer to God. The setting of the text is in three languages English, Latin, and Spansh, which gives the sensation of constant reflection and revaluation of what has been said, forcing you to remain mindful.

The ensemble is laid out like so:


                                                           Coro Lontano
                                                                 Archi
Orchestra I                                                 Soli                                  Orchestra II
Coro I                                                     Conductor                                   Coro II
                                                         Organo Lontano

This layout surrounds the audience and fills the space with this meditation. To add to the colour of the ensemble is the use of Duduk, an instrument native to Armenia which is renown for its mournful colour and beauty.

The work can be divided into 8 sections and in the recording produced by harmonia mundi is divided as such.

I - By Night - Starts with dark rustlings and building from the ensemble, before we hear the first quotation of the text 'By night on my bed I sought him Whom my soul loveth I sought him, but I found him not'. This movement focuses around the larger ensemble, with the text being sung by the choir. 

II - Where have you hidden, Beloved - The next section starts with repetitions on singular pitches oscillating around each other. It is very focused and very still and wonderfully hypnotic. 

III - This life that I live - Is the first section to feature a soloist. The beautiful flying lines from the soprano mystify and mesmerise. The lightness and nimble soprano in the recording really hits the point home, I am a bit in awe of it. The stillness of the orchestra holds the atmosphere allowing the soprano to ring like a beautiful siren.

IV - Nigra Sum - This movement starts very boldly and strong, full of colour and energy. The entrance of the Mezzo soprano soloist is still filled with rippling energy which holds her like the sea holds a ship.

V - Behold, thou art fair - Is the longest singular segment, and is lead by the tenor soloist. Despite sounding very still, the music is still full of yearning and a potency you feel may suddenly explode uncontrollably. The entrance of the choir is haunting and just emphasise the power of the tenor.

VI - I am come into my garden - This is my favourite movement, mostly because I find when a counter tenor is good it is profoundly beautiful. Robin Blaze really brings out the ephemeral nature of the text and music and just draws a listener in closer almost being absorbed by the text and the singing.

VII - Reveal, reveal your presence - This movement begins to build with energy the movement. Despite the long lines in the instruments and singers there is a sense of a building tempi and the the sparky soprano solo adds to the deeper potency of the movement. Allowing it to build and build.

VIII - Mira que la dolencia de amor - The final sees reiterations of older texts as well as the inclusion of the new Spanish text. Despite being a finale, it is by no means a release or a conclusion. There is a greater sense that the souls have gone unsatisfied and with an uneasy breath out the piece ends.

This powerful and potent work is just magical and I can spend days listening to it. The CD by harmoni mundi is definitely worth buying, not just for this singular piece, but also for the collection of other works by this wonderful composer.

Until next week!

Bronius Kutavicius: The Gates of Jerusalem

Momentum is really picking up here in Vilnius, and I have gathered so many gems to discuss I've struggled to work out the order to present them in. But when I woke up today I had to discuss Bronius Kutavicius. It would be impossible to discuss the world of Lithuanian music, without looking at Kutavicius. Born in 1932, Kutavicius has been a prominent figure for an incredible amount of time. In the 1960s he was dabbling with the same kind of experiments many other composers were tackling, but he soon turned to a different standpoint. His fascination with language, ritual, and ancient architecture led him to create a music which emulated these factors, because of this many commentators on his work often refer to him as an archaeologist. Similarly to composers like Montvila or Juzeliunas, Kutavicius draws a lot from Lithuania's ancient folklore, mythology and folk music; but in comparison to Montvila or Juzeliunas, the desire is to tap into this musical world entirely, instead of translating it for classical audiences. This gives Kutavicius's music a brutal and archaic landscape, which still hypnotises, much like sutartines or Tibetan monastic music.


Commentators on Kutavicius try to pigeon hole him into either 'minimalism' or 'new spirituality'. Both of these labels ultimately miss the point entirely, simply because the motivations are almost completely separate. 'Minimalism' as a way of describing Kutavicius, is flawed in the basic fact that the music isn't repetitive to make it simple or approachable, the repetitions in Kutavicius's work are for ritualistic purposes, just like sutartines isn't minimalism, Kutavicius isn't minimalism. The issue with 'new spirituality' as a term is it either implies a 'new age' spiritual thinking, or treating spirituality as a novelty or musical niche. This is quite degrading to all composers who get that label slapped onto their work. Spirituality has been linked to the development of music for over one thousand years, so to draw on spirituality is simply traditional. Also by the kind of logic, shouldn't Kutavicius be 'old spirituality'? as he draws on pre-Christian religions.


I digress, the piece in question I want to focus on is his large scale work 'Gates of Jerusalem'. Written in 1995 the piece reflects a quotation from Revelations, 21:9-13:

Then one of the seven angels(...)showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. (...) It has a great, high wall, with twelve gates (...) on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates

The work is a four movement work, for each major point on the compass, and each movement divides into three sections. So there is a definitive musical section for each of the twelve gates. The work was originally conceived for piano, but the composer felt a single piano ultimately lacked what needed to be created, so a work for orchestra and choir was born. 

The first movement is the Eastern Gates. Musically it references Japan, with its echos of Gagaku (Japanese traditional music) and imitations of traditional instruments like piano strings being struck to emulate the koto. The movement also references the importance of Zen Buddhism and Haiku by quoting Buson's haiku:

To the west will spread the moonlight, and the shadows of flowers - to the East.

The next movement is the Northern Gates. Which references two major elements, Shamanism and Northern European composers like Sibelius or Nielsen. The reflection on Shamanism is revealed through the use of large drum and chanting. And the references to Sibelius and Nielsen come in the form of a 'Northern Fugue'. 

The Southern Gates is an extreme juxtaposition to the previous movement. The use of layered polyphonic rhythms and melodies drawing on African or Oceanic tribes makes this an extremely exciting movement. The drive and pulsations are as hypnotic as they are energetic. 

The final movement the Western Gates looks to Western Europe. The movement is subtitled Stabat Mater and it is based on the canonical text. The conclusion of the movement and the work on the  word Amen, has the overtly spiritual overtone of almost having prayers answered.

The careful consideration of many different spiritualities, cultures, and musical idioms in this work make it quite a powerful poly-religious oratorio. In much the same way John Taverner or Arvo Part's music tries to bring others to spirituality through crystalline music, Kutavicius brings the audience to spirituality by simply addressing all peoples.

This wonderful piece can be heard here on spotify performed by Donata Katkus and his St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra, as well as the Aidija Chamber Choir under the guidance of Romualdas Grazinis. And thankfully now more and more recordings of Kutavicius's work are appearing like the recently released Hyperion recording of Kutavicius's 'The Seasons'.



Information gathered from

Music Information Centre Lithuania

Sleeve notes on The Gates of Jerusalem CD by Linas Paulauskis

Julius Juzeliunas: Lygumu giesmes (Simfonija Nr. 5)

This week I will be tackling one of Lithuania's most influential composers, Julius Juzeliunas. A pupil of Juozas Gruodis, Juzeliunas had a broad career as a composer, and was one of the influential figures in Sajudis which led to the foundations of the independent Lithuania we know today.  Like many composers of his generation, his music started in a romantic style with an intense focus on folklore. But as he and his music matured, he drew on modernistic trends, as well as developing his own musical systems based on his research of Lithuanian folk music like sutartines. His music in the 80s shifted to what could be interpreted as a minimalist styling, but the intriguing layering of polyphonic lines and the sprinklings of Neoclassicism show there was something more curious happening in his music during this time.  His influence in Lithuania can be also seen in his tuition. In 1952 he gained the position of head of composition in the now Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, where he taught many of Lithuania's leading composers like Rytis Mazulis, Ricardas Kabelis, Felix Bajoras, Vytautas Montvila, and Onute Narbutaite.

The piece I will be Introducing is one of the first pieces of Juzeliunas I ever uncovered, his Songs Of The Plains (Symphony No. 5) (Lygumu giesmes(Simfonija nr. 5)). This curious two movement symphony is written for female choir and strings and was the piece that won Juzeliunas the inaugural Lithuanian National Prize in 1991. The opening starts off very serenely as the violins build the melodic material that circles itself. The introduction of the low strings adds an extra level of energy, with the sharp stabs. The second section is defined by the introduction of the voices, who reiterate their melody Sedauto.  Each circling of the folk song gets stronger and more energetic, until it suddenly dissipates into a section reminiscent of the opening. The fourth section is heavily focused on another folk melody treated in a manner very similar to the first. The movement continues  progressing and evolving motifs are reiterated in the string orchestra, in a way that could be seen as a link to sonata form. The 'recapitulation' comes in the form of Sedauto  being sung by the choir again, but this time only accompanied by a low B tremoloing sul ponticello,  drawing the movement to a close.

The second movement is a much shorter movement in comparison. The burst of energy, combined with the constant evolution and linear form make this a thrilling piece  listen to. The entrance of the voices in this movement starts with the altos singing, while the sopranos adding text speak theirs adding a harsh element to it. We reach a moment where we feel a moment of calm, but instantly feel the movement building more and more over time; evoking so many different colors and textures from the strings. Towards the close, motifs and ideas from the first movement reappear, it is then rudely interrupted by material that opened the movement; bringing the piece to an energetic and thrilling close.

The work is fascinating and Juzeliunas's music gets more fascinating the more you delve into it. His Cantus-Magnificat written to mark the 400th anniversary of the Vilnius university, is a large masterpiece which will amaze listeners.

Information on Juzeliunas has been sourced from the following:

CD Sleeve notes from - Julius Juzeliunas CD produced by MIC.LT (LMIPCCD010, 2000)

Lithuanian Music Information Centre

And Lygumu Giesmes manuscript.