The 20th Century Rhapsody

In the 19^th century, songs reflecting daily life were known as rhapsodies; free-form pieces based on various folk melodies. However, as the 19^th century turned to the 20^th, the rapid urban modernisation and the Industrial Revolution increasingly provided artists with inspiration. The rhythms of the industrial world found their way into composers scores, and mechanical devices into the works of painters and photographers. The Trimitas orchestra has developed a theatrical performance built on these aesthetics and urban themes. It consists of striking opuses from the first half of the 20^th century rarely performed in Lithuania and combines works imbued with urban spirit into a cohesive dramaturgy. The composers who left a special mark on the music of that time, the American George Gershwin, the Russian Igor Stravinsky and the Frenchman Erik Satie, seemed to embody the atmosphere of the new century. The lighting and costumes designed especially for this concert help add new meaning to it.

Igor Stravinsky’s Ebony Concerto (1945), written in the tradition of the Baroque concerto grosso, has been hailed as the composer’s most successful flirtation with jazz music. In the modernist era, experimentation with different styles enabled the full use of the acoustic potential of the clarinet and the jazz band. George Gershwin’s famous opus Rhapsody in Blue (1924), a fusion of the American musical and European classical tradition, is a very popular American concert piece. The programme also includes a version of Erik Satie’s ballet Parade (1917) for brass orchestra (arr. by Guus Dohmen), which is steeped in jazz rhythms and violin songs. The scandalous work, which saw the light of day at the beginning of the modernist era, was met with stormy reactions at its premiere, and resulted in eight days in prison for Erik Satie. The composer, who was punished for ‘public insult and slander’, wrote the surprisingly inventive music piece, to include a typewriter, a car horn, bottles, a starter pistol and a siren in addition to the traditional instruments.

Piano Petras Geniušas

Clarinet Rimvydas Savickas

Conductor Aleksandras Šimelis

Director Birutė Mar

Choreographer Sigutė Ilgauskaitė

The premiere took place on 9 November 2019 (Saturday), 19:00, at Vilnius Congress Hall (Vilniaus St. 6, Vilnius)