EVENTS. Gaida 2006: Multiple Forms, Origins and Situations

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It appears that Gaida, by far the most important contemporary music festival in Lithuania, further multiplies the forms, origins, and situations of music in its extensive and diverse programme, traditionally bringing some of the time-tested legends of contemporary music together with the driving forces of today's music to the listeners' delight, while at the same time retaining the role of the key catalyst in Lithuanian new music scene. This year's Gaida promises to present the audiences with probably the broadest range of different musical manifestations in the festival's history to date. Its evolution demonstrates a clear and welcome tendency of increasing interdisciplinarity and experimentation with less conventional concert situations.

New Lithuanian music in the context of the global scene being its main focus, Gaida this year features a number of commissioned world premieres, among them compositions by Marius Baranauskas, Algirdas Martinaitis, Antanas Jasenka, and Bronius Kutavičius. The electronic music adept Vytautas V. Jurgutis presents a particularly intriguing premiere – a multimedia dance performance titled Time Line, produced in collaboration with Aura Modern Dance Theatre and promising to daze the viewers and listeners with complex interaction of its integral elements and artistic interpretation of invisible physical phenomena. The work evidences a new stage in Lithuanian music and interdisciplinary performing arts.

Some events of Gaida aim to revisit the relationship of music and film. While the French Ensemble Court-Circuit together with IRCAM will render Yan Maresz's soundtrack for René Clair’s silent film Paris qui dort, the evening themed 'Cinemusica' will see the Gaida Ensemble perform new works by Lithuanians Nomeda Valančiūtė, Šarūnas Nakas, Gintaras Sodeika, and Ramūnas Motiekaitis acting as new soundtracks for old Lithuanian films.

In addition to Lithuanian composers and virtuoso performers, the forthcoming festival features some international names that will surely take the breath out of even the most versed listeners. These include Gidon Kremer, Mauricio Kagel, and the festival's grand finale – Steve Reich himself. Several concerts are dedicated to innovative works by well-known artists in the territories of electronic and experimental music, such as Finland's Pan Sonic and Canadian Jean-François Laporte.

Lithuanian Music Link No. 13