Symphony of Prayers

VYTAUTAS LAURUŠAS – Symphony of Prayers; Concerto for cello and orchestra Discorso Concitato; Simphonia Latina for mezzo-soprano and orchestra; Symphony No. 4

Professor Vytautas Laurušas, the composer, pedagogue, cultural and social figure, who left this world last year, would have celebrated his 90th birthday in spring. His legacy spans from song, opera to modern symphonic, vocal, choral and chamber instrumental works, which were performed in Europe and the USA, leaving the audiences surprised by unexpected twists of thought and emotion. The annotation of the prestigious “Schott Music” publishing house, which, among other prominent composers of the world, also publishes the works of Laurušas, writes: “He managed to integrate the formalized structures of the Western avant-garde into dramatic vocabulary.”

The Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society pays tribute to the composer with a concert of symphonic music, offering some of his most important works, written in collaboration with prominent performers such as David Geringas, who has performed almost all of Laurušas’ works for cello. Tonight, the Concerto for cello and orchestra will be performed by talented musician Mindaugas Bačkus. The vocal oeuvre is represented by Simphonia Latina featuring the famous opera soloist Jovita Vaškevičiūtė, and the unparalleled mastery of Laurušas’ orchestral colouring is conveyed by his symphonic canvases in a performance of the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra led by conductor Robertas Šervenikas, as if confirming the unpredictable and compelling aspirations of ​​the composer’s thought. “A musical work is like a book”, Laurušas used to say. This time, the pages of the “music book” bring to mind one of the most prominent personalities of Lithuanian culture.