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On January 8, to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Freedom Fighters’ Day, the Lithuanian Embassy in Prague organized a concert Lux pro libertate, in which organist and composer Dr. Vidas Pinkevičius presented the world premiere of a work specially created for the January 13 1991 anniversary.

He said about his latest composition: “It was created as a respectful remembrance of those who stood up for freedom at a time when it required the greatest courage. The musical path of the composition visits five stages: sadness, pain, silence, hope and spiritual victory. The latter is perceived as a spiritual state: peace, inner light and freedom, grown from sacrifice”.

The concert was held in the impressive modernist architecture of the Church of the Sacred Heart of Our Lord under patronage by the Mayor of Prague’s 3rd District. The audience heard works by J. S. Bach, Ch.-M. Widor and works by Lithuanian classics M. K. Čiurlionis, J. Naujalis and other composers. Thus the anniversary year of M. K. Čiurlionis was symbolically closed in Prague, distinguished by the abundance and diversity of events presenting the work of this artist.

V. Pinkevičius is one of the founders of the educational platform Secrets of Organ Playing, which unites thousands of organists from 89 countries around the world. Together with his wife, Dr. Aušra Motūzaitė-Pinkevičiene, they write blog articles and create videos every day to advise on how to play the organ and inspire other organists to practice and create. He is also the artistic director of the Vilnius University Organ Studio Unda Maris.

Over the course of 28 years, Vidas Pinkevičius has given around 450 concerts around the world and, as a very prolific composer, has released over 400 works, mostly for organ, which he publishes on the Sheet Music Plus platform. His work is influenced by the modal, folk and sacred music traditions of various European countries. When he is not playing the organ, he is interested in old harmoniums.