Čiurlionis’ Music and Art Come Alive at the Czech Museum of Music
On September 30, the Embassy of Lithuania in Prague invited audiences to experience an extraordinary evening at the Czech Museum of Music, where the music of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis and other composers intertwined with live painting, created before the eyes of the public. The concert “ČiurlionisLab. A Synthesis of Music and Painting”, performed by the international artistic collective Colab, was dedicated to celebrating the 150th anniversary of Lithuania’s most renowned artist and composer.
“Čiurlionis gave us cultural identity at a time when our country did not exist on the map – refined, imaginative, rooted in local traditions, and at the same time deeply connected with European art movements. In this sense, his art became a form of ‘silent diplomacy’, presenting Lithuania to Europe long before our state was restored and internationally recognized,” said Lithuanian Ambassador to the Czech Republic Rolandas Kačinskas in his welcome remarks to the large audience.
According to the Ambassador, today’s leaders could learn from Čiurlionis’ vision of the world as a harmonious interplay of people, nature, and spiritual connections. “If only international relations developed as elegantly as Čiurlionis’ fugues, our world would be a much safer place,” he added.
During the concert, Austrian painter Marius S. Binder created three new works inspired by Čiurlionis’ visions and the music performed live by a trio of international musicians: pianist Karolina Pancernaitė (Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Lithuania), cellist Lucija Pejković (Croatia), and violinist Rasma Larsens (Switzerland). Their program featured works by J. Haydn, M. K. Čiurlionis, A. Dvořák, D. Shostakovich, and A. Piazzolla. Audience members also had the chance to participate in the creative process by painting their own pieces in response to the unfolding performance.
The event was part of the “Čiurlionis 150” series in Prague, organized in cooperation with the Czech National Museum’s Czech Museum of Music. This autumn, visitors are also invited to explore the mini-exhibition “Light in Darkness: Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis and Czech Musical Symbolism” and the virtual reality experience “Path of Angels” inspired by Čiurlionis’ works. Later in October, the Museum will host a concert of Lithuanian choral music with the choir Aidija. On October 7, the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague will feature a concert by pianist Eglė Andrejevaitė alongside a lecture by musicologist Charalampos Efthymiou on the life and works of Čiurlionis.
