BALTIC ORCHESTRA FESTIVAL: HUNDRED STRINGS

Programme

Feliksas Bajoras
Prelude and toccata for strings

Ralph Vaughan Williams
Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis

Antonín Dvořák
Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22

This year, the Baltic Orchestra Festival will give listeners a unique opportunity to hear 100 string instruments on one stage. The musicians of three symphony orchestras shall unite their efforts for an impressive purpose: on the stage of the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, string sections of the Latvian National Orchestra (artistic director and chief conductor Tarmos Peltokoski), the Estonian National Orchestra (artistic director and chief conductor Olari Elts) and the Lithuanian State Orchestra (artistic director and chief conductor Gintaras Rinkevičius) shall play together. The concert will also feature a special guest, the winner of many prestigious prizes – Vilnius State Quartet.

During the concert, a program prepared specially for the string orchestra will be played on the stage of the Palace of the Grand Dukes. In the first part, the listeners will be able to hear the Prelude and Toccata for Strings by Feliksas Bajoras (b. 1934) and the “Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis” written by British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), which will be performed by the musicians of the Vilnius State Quartet together with the strings of three symphony orchestras. The work is inspired by the 16th century English composer Thomas Tallis, whose melody R. V. Williams developed in his own piece. The composer’s biographer James Day calls Fantasia “the first recognizable work of R.V. Williams, which undoubtedly highlights his distinctive compositional character”. The evening will end with one of the most famous compositions by the Czech romantic Antonin Dvořák (1841–1904) – Serenade for Strings in E major. The five-part serenade reveals five different faces of music, and the changing styles accompany the listener on a journey through the expressions of deepest emotions.

On this evening, the musicians of the three Baltic symphony orchestras will be conducted by the artistic director and chief conductor of the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, one of the founders of the Baltic Orchestra Festival, laureate of the National Prize, maestro Gintaras Rinkevičius.