Čiurlionis. Sound and Vision in Prague invited audiences to listen, watch, and deeper understand the work of M. K. Čiurlionis
October 7 in Prague, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, the Lithuanian Embassy in Prague invited guests to a concert at the Academy of Performing Arts, where pianist Eglė Andrejevaitė and musicologist Charalampos Efthymiou presented the program Čiurlionis. Sound and Vision. The audience listened to compositions by this MKČ and a sonata by Giedrius Kuprevičius inspired by Čiurlionis, and a lecture that revealed how the synesthetic abilities of this brilliant Lithuanian artist developed in his work, and how he was influenced by new artistic trends of the 20th century and the ethnic culture of Lithuania.
"Čiurlionis chose an artistic 'dialect'—symbolism, cosmic visions, and experiments—that resonated throughout Europe at the time. Through these universal artistic forms, he managed to express the spiritual identity of Lithuania in a language that was understandable far beyond its borders," said Rolandas Kačinskas, Lithuanian Ambassador to the Czech Republic, in his welcome address to the assembled audience.
According to him, Čiurlionis managed to convey the Lithuanian soul in a European context through universal artistic forms, thus fulfilling a similar mission to that of other great artists of nations during their renaissance: Alfons Mucha and Bedřich Smetana in the Czech lands, Jean Sibelius in Finland.
The expressive and sensitive performance of preludes, nocturnes, and other compositions by E. Andrejevaitė was accompanied by an interactive, richly illustrated lecture by Ch. Efthymiou, a researcher of Čiurlionis' work and life, who captivated the audience and helped them understand more concretely how the composer "saw sounds and heard colors" and why we consider him a figure who was ahead of his time.
About a hundred spectators gathered in the impressive historic hall of the Faculty of Music and Dance of the Academy of Performing Arts (HAMU), named after MKČ's "contemporary" Bohuslav Martinů, and listened to an interesting story that revealed unknown aspects of the author's famous works, and that was not familiar even to Lithuanian listeners. The audience included representatives of the Czech cultural community, diplomats, students and young people, and members of the Lithuanian community.
This concert is part of the "Čiurlionis 150" program in Prague, where visitors will be enjoying one more concert of Lithuanian music with the Aidija choir at the Czech Museum of Music of the National Museum of the Czech Republic. At the same museum a small exhibition Lights in the Darkness. Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis and Czech Musical Symbolism and a virtual reality experience inspired by Čiurlionis' work Trail of Angels can still be seen.
