Peteris Vasks: String Quartet No.1

For many fans of Latvian music, Peteris Vasks is quite the formidable character. Renowned for his simple but striking beauty. His works post-Latvia's regained independence have been defined by his incorporation of folk melodies, programmatic use of extended techniques, and musical and melodic clarity. The emotive powers of Vasks's oeuvre is quite unique from the 'group' of composers he is often tied up with (Henryk M. Gorecki, Arvo Part, John Taverner). Part of his uniqueness, I believe, is linked to his compositional education. Because of the regime at the time, being a Methodist, Vasks was not allowed to study in his native Latvia. This led him to emigrate across the border to Lithuania where he studied composition under the guidance of Valentin Utkin. 

As this blog aims to be an eye opener to the Baltic world, I wanted to introduce one of Peteris's earlier works. His early music is heavily influenced by the experiments and trends of the Warsaw Autumn Festival. This means the music of the time draws a lot of influences from sonoristic music like that of Krzysztof Penderecki. He also incorporated a lot of controlled aleatoricism like in the works of Witold Lutoslawski. 


The work I wanted to to introduce is Peteris Vasks's first string quartet.Written while he was living in Vilnius, the work became the first of five major string quartets. Each of these works have a wonderful uniqueness that can equal many leading composers of the 20th Century. The first quartet is intriguing for many reasons. The three movement work tackles the long tradition of the form, as well as challenging it with many contemporary ideas. The opening movement is extremely violent and powerful, with its hard striking bow strokes and extended techniques. The glissandi and extreme changes in dynamics keep the listener second guessing. The violence regularly disappears into still chords which suddenly explode again with an extra level of fury.

The second movement is a violent sonata, whose rapid circling motifs are very reminiscent of Bartok. The driving moto perpetuo leads to a dramatic chorale, full of angst and longing. In many ways this movement is the most traditional, not just because of its use of sonata form, and likeness to Bartok; simply because this movement uses no extended techniques or contemporary textural devices. The tension of the movement dissipates and leads to a solo for the cello. The cellist is able to use the gut-wrenching melody to draw all the emotive powers it can muster. The climax of the melody ushers in a recapitulation to the opening sequences. 

The final movement, simple titled 'Melodia' uses circling aleatoricism to underpin a beautiful melody first played by the viola, then by the first violin. The simply beauty created by these modern textures was probably a harbinger of where his music was heading. But after all the violence and intensity of the previous movements, the finale is a welcome relief and has the sensation of an even greater beauty. This recording by the Navarra Quartet really highlights the qualities of each movement and played with such astounding beauty and technical prowess. Their recordings of the second and third quartet is to be commended and I highly recommend giving them a listen.

The album can be found here: Vasks - String Quartet No. 1

All information gathered from the Schott webpage, Peteris Vasks wikipedia page, and the recording came from Spotify. 

Juste Janulyte: Elongations of Nights

My last post was an introduction to the work of Osvaldas Balakauskas, this time I shall be casting an ear onto the work of Juste Janulyte. Born 1982, Juste is becoming one of, if not the, defining voice of her generation. A large portion of her success is owed the her signature aesthetic of monochromaticism. Like in the world of photography, Juste's monochromaticism refers to colour. This aesthetic is usually produced by writing for identical instruments, like in her work Psalms for 8 bass flutes; or alternatively by highlighting similarities in colour, like in her seminal work Observation of Clouds. 

As an introduction to her music, I shall discuss one of her early defining works Elongations of Night. Written in 2009 for the Lithuanian National Philharmonic, this work is quickly becoming one of Juste's most performed works; having already been performed in America, Britain, and Lithuania to name just a few performances. This piece is composed for a 21 piece string orchestra, and as the composer playfully suggests, if it were written by Morton Feldman would be called 'Fifths in my Life'. As you can hear from the recording, the opening is out of the world. The crystal whispering from the violins, evoke a world as magical as Rued Langaard's Music of the Spheres. From this, the low strings gradually enter in a canon, gradually building upwards. The climax of the work comes when the canon powerfully replaces the glistening harmonic trills. The end comes in a peaceful resolution as the canon continues moving gradually before coming to a quiet and restful end. 

Listen to Juste Janulyte's Elongation of Nights

This work has opened up Juste's musical world. Even though it is not her first monochromatic work, this piece is definitely her first solid mature work. From here she has continued to write profoundly beautiful works. In October, her new work for choir and electronics will get its premiere, I can't hold my excitement. If you haven't guessed, Juste shall be a regular feature of this blog, in future articles I intend to write full analyses of her works.


Visit Juste Janulyte's Website here

Information gathered from the following:

Her website: www.janulyte.info

and the music information centre www.mic.lt/en

Osvaldas Balakauskas: Concerto for Oboe, Harpsichord, and Strings

The first composer I thought I should introduce everyone to, is a figure who holds the same kind of importance in Lithuania as Maxwell-Davies holds in England. Born in 1937, Osvaldas Balakauskas has been an influential figure in Lithuanian music since the middle of the 1960s. After studying in the Vilnius Pedagogical Institute before moving to Ukraine to study with Boris Lyatoshinsky at the Kiev Conservatoire. His time in Kiev was extremely influential on his work, it was during this time he was able to indulge in his loves of Xenakis, Stockhausen, Messiaen, and Webern. Between the years of 1988-1992 he was a member of the Lithuanian Independence Movement (Sąjūdis). After this time, he became one of the first ambassadors for Lithuania after regaining independence. He served as ambassador in France, Spain, and Portugal. 

The defining feature of O. Balakauskas, is the clash of serial techniques and tonality. He does this with his signature technique, which he calls, dodecatonality. This technique, has a multitude of implementations. If a composer were to use these ideals on a 12 tone row, Balakauskas's technique could approach this in two ways:

1. By building a twelve tone row which implies traditional tonal harmonies, i.e. C, Eb, G, G#, E, B, Bb, F, D, F#,A,C#.
2. Or by layering a tone row with with transpositions of itself to produce, tonal harmonies, i.e. the above row C, Eb, G, G#, E, B, Bb, F, D,F#, A, C#. Could be layered with a minor 3rd and a fifth. Eb, Gb, Bb, B, G, D, Db, Ab, F,A,C,E. and G, Bb, D, D#, B, F#, F, C, A, C#,E,F#.

As can be seen, the original tone row, it is built up of two major chords a tritone apart, and two minor chords a tritone apart. In this particular example the layering produces the first three notes of the row in the opening chord. What this allows the composer to do, is seamlessly shift harmonies in constantly surprising shifts in a way that is surprising, but always feels rather right.

Obviously, the above example is a mere introduction to the technique and O. Balakauskas himself was able to take the technique to really profound and wonderfully constructed ways. The best way to introduce someone to a musical technique is to show musical examples. Which brings us onto the Concerto for Oboe and Harpsichord. Written in 1981, this three movement concerto is one of his most conventional concerti. It is also one of his most approachable works. The interactions between the strings and the two soloists is lively and light-hearted. The second movement is a beautiful movement which sees the Harpsichord sitting back while the oboe sings its heart out. The final movement is highly rhythmical ending the concerto in a flourish. 

Osvaldas Balakauskas - Concerto for Oboe, Harpsichord and Strings - Movement I

Information gathered from the followings sources:

Osvaldas Balakuaskas Profile, Music Information Centre: http://mic.lt/en/database/classical/composers/balakauskas/#bio

Osvaldas Balakauskas - Balakauskas: Concerto Brio for Violin and Chamber Orchestra/Ludus Modorum/Piano Concertino, BIS

Why the hell did you go to Lithuania?

As the opening post of this blog, it is only sensible to answer this question. The Baltic state is a small one, with a modest stamp on global history. Despite the modesty of the nation's stature, the music has a wonderfully curious and unique sound. 

My discoveries of this beautiful world came from multiple sources. The first major encounter that came about for me when I attended Sounds New Music Festival in 2011. The festival's theme was Baltic Plus, it included works by many leading composers from Denmark, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland. The Kaunas quartet performed works by Lithuanian composers like Bronius Kutavicius, Juste Janulyte, and Rytis Mazulis. After this encounter, I had the personal pleasure being able to work with the wonderful Martynas Levickis (Check him out here). Over the years, me and Martynas worked on many projects including a  concerto for the instrument  as well as a monstrous work for four accordions, string quartet, percussion, and voice. Martynas is a keen advocate for the music of his native country and he was enthusiastic to introduce me to Jonas Tamulionis and the folk tradition of Sutartines (this is a topic that needs its own dedicated post, watch this space). Then in 2013 the Vale of Glamorgan Festival in Wales performed a large number of Lithuanian composers, including Algirdas Martinaitis, Vidmantas Bartulis, Vykintas Baltakas, Bronius Kutavicius, Juste Janulyte, and many more. This week and a half long festival was the moment I really knew I had to find out more about these composers and the world they inhabit. 

From the 1st September of this year, I will be commencing my studies in the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. As I learn more and get absorbed by the world around me, I shall be adding new posts covering new composers, singular works, and reviews of concerts.

ačiū labai and speak soon!