Mantautas Krukauskas

When does sound become music? How do parallel lines of time intersect in music, and how does space become part of a composition? How do concert practices transform when modern technologies are integrated into creative processes? These questions serve as the starting point for the author's evening of composer and sound artist Mantautas Krukauskas.

Live performances and recordings will reveal different facets of his work – from acoustic chamber music, stage works, and electronics to free improvisation and encounters with the future and past augmented by modern technologies.

Creating at the intersections of acoustic music, electronic music, and sound art, the author is interested in concepts of space and spacetime, experiences of listening and perception, and questions of freedom of choice. Alongside these themes, there is room for playfulness, surprises, and self-irony; after all, even when solving the most complex problems, one does not need to remain very serious all the time.

In addition to recordings, the evening's program will feature a live performance of "Laiškų eskizai" (Sketches of Letters) set to the texts of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis for string quartet, soprano, and electronics, first performed during the Čiurlionis Quartet's tour of Canada dedicated to the M. K. Čiurlionis year, as well as excerpts from the opera "Andromeda," created with the help of artificial intelligence. The performers will be the Čiurlionis Quartet, soprano Monta Martinsone, baritone Jonas Sakalauskas, and the composer himself, who will perform the electronics parts.

The music will be accompanied by a discussion moderated by musicologist Lukrecija Stonkutė about creative concepts, the interaction between humans and technology in creativity, and the degree of freedom composers, performers, and listeners possess.

Evening program:

Mantautas Krukauskas – "Septentrio" (recording) Septet for two pianos, string quartet, and bassoon

Mantautas Krukauskas – "Laiškų eskizai" (live performance) To the texts of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. Performed by the Čiurlionis Quartet: Jonas Tankevičius (1st violin), Darius Dikšaitis (2nd violin), Gediminas Dačinskas (viola), Marius Dominykas Sakavičius (cello) Monta Martinsone (soprano) and Mantautas Krukauskas (electronics)

MiLA – excerpts from the album "Noch Einmal" (recording) Listening session of a free improvisation recording. Bruno P – voice. Theodore Parker – guitar and analog electronics. Mantautas Krukauskas – hybrid digital instruments