Needle of Light. LNSO, Mirga Gražinytė–Tyla and "Duettissimo"

Performers: Lithuanian national symphony orchestra (Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Modestas Pitrėnas) DUETTISSIMO Ensemble: DALIA DĖDINSKAITĖ (violin), GLEB PYŠNIAK (cello) Conductor MIRGA GRAŽINYTĖ-TYLA

Program: ŽIBUOKLĖ MARTINAITYTĖ – “Needle of Light” for violin, cello, and symphony orchestra (premiere) JOSEPH ACHRON – Two Tableaux from the Theatre Music “Belshazzar” MIECZYSŁAW WEINBERG – Symphony No. 21 “Kaddish”

The International Joseph Achron Music Festival annually honors the memory of this legendary Litvak composer born in Lazdijai. This year, the festival will open with a special concert at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic, where the renowned Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla will conduct the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra. The concert program will feature works by two prominent Jewish composers – Joseph Achron and Mieczysław Weinberg – alongside a new piece for violin, cello, and symphony orchestra, “Needle of Light,” by New York-based composer Žibuoklė Martinaitytė.

Belshazzar, the ruler of Babylon, associated with the idea of the Antichrist in the Middle Ages, eventually became a symbol of pride, sacrilege, and inevitable doom. J. Achron presented his own interpretation to the public in 1924 while living in Berlin; it was performed for the first time in Israel that same year as part of a play staged at the “Teatron Eretz Israeli” theater. Many circumstances surrounding the creation of the play remain unclear, but it is known that later, while living in the USA, J. Achron adapted the music from the play into an independent concert piece for symphony orchestra.

The festival's opening concert will be symbolically crowned by Symphony No. 21 by the Polish-born composer M. Weinberg, its title “Kaddish” referring to a hymn from Jewish religious rites. This work embodies more than just the legacy of Jewish music – by conducting his works in recordings and concerts, M. Gražinytė-Tyla continues her very personal mission of introducing M. Weinberg’s music to the widest possible audience.

Organizer – VšĮ “Ars Lituanica”, partner – Lithuanian National Philharmonic