Čiurlionio gimtadieniui

Concert organised in cooperation with PI Tytuvėnai Festival and Čiurlionis House in Vilnius

ALEXEI VOLODIN (piano)

Programme:
MIKALOJUS KONSTANTINAS ČIURLIONIS – Sonata in F major, VL 155; Jūra (The Sea), cycle of small landscapes, VL 317; Prelude in B minor, VL 182; Mazurka, VL 234
FRYDERYK CHOPIN – Barcarolle in Fis major, Op. 60; Polonaise-Fantaisie in A flat major, Op. 61; Etudes, Op. 25

Since 2020, the Tytuvėnai Festival, the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society and the M. K. Čiurlionis House in Vilnius have been organising the composer’s birthday concerts. This gives rise to a tradition of commemorating the unique Lithuanian artist by listening to famous Lithuanian and foreign pianists (pianists such as Håvard Gimse and Peter Laul have already taken part in these events). By including works by Čiurlionis in their repertoire, foreign performers celebrate the culture of our country and, of course, the great artist. As Čiurlionis himself said, “music is God’s messenger, sent to move the softest and best strings of our souls, to soothe hearts weary of life’s troubles, to oust lies, wickedness, jealousy and hatred”.

This year, on the occasion of Čiurlionis’ 147th birthday, the music of the Lithuanian genius will be interpreted by Alexei Volodin, a world-renowned pianist living in Spain, who is already familiar to the Lithuanian audience. A graduate of the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in Moscow, he studied with the legendary piano pedagogue Eliso Virsaladze, who named her pupil as one of the most outstanding pianists of the young generation. Volodin has been described as the rare performer who is able to find the golden mean between meaning and emotion, sensitive touch and impeccable technique. Classical Source (2019) described him as “a wonderful artist, able to peel away the layers of meaning and expression with an extraordinarily delicate virtuosity”.  He has performed recitals at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Philharmonie de Paris, Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall in London, Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Herkulesaal in Munich, Tonhalle in Zurich, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Palau de la Musica in Barcelona.

In this concert, the pianist performs works by Čiurlionis and Fryderyk Chopin. In the music of both composers, one feels a strong connection with folk music, a romantic worldview, national consciousness, spiritual notions and moral norms. Both composers use similar musical semantics. Chopin’s influence can be detected in Čiurlionis’ early opuses.