Melodies of the Heart

EDVARD GRIEG – Vocal cycle Melodies of the Heart, Op. 5 (text by Hans Christian Andersen); String quartet No. 1, Op. 27 in G minor

Vilnius String Quartet, a fosterer of classical values for over five decades, a recipient of the Lithuanian National Prize, the Baltic Assembly Prize and many other notable awards, and young singer Dovilė Kazonaitė invite to submerge into a romantic world of Edvar Grieg. His vocal cycle Melodies of the Heart (rarely programmed on Lithuanian concert scene) to the text by Hans Christian Andersen has claimed Grieg fame as a vocal master. Moreover, various arrangements of selected songs from this opus have enjoyed attention of pop music representatives including Frank Sinatra. This afternoon, Kazonaitė, the soloist with the LNOBT and the Hope of the Year, and the Quartet will treat the audience to the reading of this emotional cycle of four love songs. The concert programme also features Grieg’s monumental String quartet No. 1, Op. 27 in G minor considered to be the composer’s most symphonic chamber music opus. According to Grieg, the composition portrays the Norwegian landscape and reflects spiritual strive of a human. Classical four-movement cycle is marked by unity and leitmotivs – as the main theme Grieg has chosen an idiosyncratic fragment of Norwegian melody, which also has a reference to fate.