JAVA

In the Small Hall

Performer YANA SERBINA (piano, Ukraine)

Program: LEOPOLD GODOWSKY – "Java Suite"

Listen to a rarely performed work of indescribable beauty and sophistication, created by the legendary piano virtuoso, composer, and pedagogue Leopold Godowsky, which will be performed for the audience by Ukrainian pianist Yana Serbina – the 2025 laureate of "Klaipėda Piano Masters," the largest piano academy in the Baltic states.

L. Godowsky, who hailed from the town of Žasliai in Lithuania, embarked on a journey to the island of Java in Indonesia, known as the Garden of the East, in 1923. The result of this trip – the "Java Suite" ("Phonoramas") – is a cycle of twelve piano pieces that surprises with its exoticism. In 1925, the composer himself called these pieces "tonal journeys," in which he sought to convey not only the sights he had seen but also the deep impressions and emotions experienced during the trip.

During the concert, the intellectual polyphony of the West will meet the hypnotic pulsation of the Javanese gamelan. Known as the Buddha of the Piano, L. Godowsky remained faithful to the nature of the island's music – avoiding the Western triple meter, he relied on the duple or quadruple rhythm characteristic of the locals. The composer masterfully wove authentic melodies (such as Krawitan or Kanjut) into his own characteristic, unparalleled harmonic language. This is a monumental opus that paints with sound "picturesque inhabitants, powerful volcanoes, and majestic ruins" – a world that completely captivated and inspired L. Godowsky.

Continuing the tradition established in 2017 of presenting highly skilled and exceptionally talented pianists, their artistic ideas, and stage experiments on the professional stage, the Kaunas State Philharmonic and the "Klaipėda Piano Masters" academy invite you this year to the recital of the 2025 laureate, Y. Serbina.

Y. SERBINA is a laureate of many competitions, including the International Piano Competition in Rome (Italy), "Piano Neuchâtel Val de Travers," and the Vilnius International Youth Music "Scarlatti Award" competition. Before the invasion of her homeland, Ukraine, she studied at the Kharkiv I. P. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts and performed at the Kharkiv Philharmonic, the Lviv Opera, and other venues. In 2022, she moved to Lithuania. After graduating from the Vytautas Magnus University Music Academy, the pianist is continuing her studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre under Professor Petras Geniušas.