PMT | Festive Concert: Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra as Guest

GUEST PERFORMANCE – LITHUANIAN NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
A journey to America to the rhythm of jazz

Performers
LITHUANIAN NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Modestas Pitrėnas)
Soloist ARTŪRAS ANUSAUSKAS (piano)
Conductor MODESTAS PITRĖNAS

Programme
FERDE GROFÉ, “Mississippi Suite” for symphony orchestra
GEORGE GERSHWIN, “Rhapsody in Blue” for piano and orchestra
LEONARD BERNSTEIN, “Three Dance Episodes” from the musical “On the Town”

Grand figures of Lithuanian music invite you on a journey to America to the rhythm of jazz: one of Lithuania’s best-known jazz pianists, Artūras Anusauskas, and Modestas Pitrėnas, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra. The concert programme reflects the development and stylistic diversity of American music in the first half of the 20th century. It highlights the interplay between the long-established European symphonic tradition and American popular culture, especially jazz, revealing a distinctive national musical identity in the works of three major composers.

The programme opens with Ferde Grofé’s “Mississippi Suite” for symphony orchestra, a programmatic work that uses musical means to depict one of America’s most important symbols: the mighty Mississippi River. Two of George Gershwin’s best-known works follow. “Rhapsody in Blue” is considered the first work to bring jazz and the culture of classical music together, while the symphonic fantasy “An American in Paris” vividly conveys an American’s experience in Europe’s cultural landscape. The concert concludes with excerpts from Leonard Bernstein’s musical “On the Town”, embodying the aesthetic of Broadway musical culture.