Violinist Daniel Hope presents the music of Gelgotas’ at the ARTE TV show Europe@Home
On Friday, February 19th, Gediminas Gelgotas’ music will be presented for international audiences at the ARTE Television program Europe at Home, hosted by the famous violinist David Hope. It is the first time Mr. Hope will be performing Gelgotas’ music. During the 40 minute TV show, Daniel Hope will perform To the Skies and Transitory by Gelgotas’. Gediminas will also perform two piano preludes of M. K. Čiurlionis and Cadenza and Never Ignore the Cosmic Ocean with the Lithuanian violinist, concertmaster of the New Ideas Chamber Orchestra NICO Augusta Jusionyte.
You can watch the show here (click on the link below)
Gelgotas receives the highest award from the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture and gets appointed as an associate professor at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater.
In September 2020, Gediminas Gelgotas was awarded the highest award of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania for merits in Lithuanian culture – the badge of honor “Bring your light and believe”. The composer was awarded for the original, innovative artistic expression, emotional persuasion of creation, and musical diversity, passing on his experience to the young generation of musicians, making Lithuanian professional music famous in the world.
Also, as of September 2020, he is an associate professor at the composition department of Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy in Vilnius. At the same academy, he also leads the students’ string orchestra.
Three new recordings of Gediminas Gelgotas music from now on is available to listen on Spotify.
Famous cellist David Geringas, for whom such composers as Gubaidulina, Vasks and Tüür dedicated their concertos, recorded Gelgotas’ piece To the Skies. Another recording was made by probably the most famous classical doublebass performer of today, the recipient of Opus Classic Award in 2018 (best instrumentalist category) Roman Patkoló (piece called Transitory). And David Nebel, violinist who just released his first album with Sony label and who
commissioned Gelgotas to write a violin concerto few years ago, recorded the Cadenza from this Violin Concerto.
Enjoy all of these three new recordings on Spotify, click here.
On August 17th, 2020, the concert of Gelgotas’ music, as a part of the prestigious Odessa Classics festival, took place at the Great Hall of Odessa Philharmonic. Compositions Sanctifaction, Never Ignore the Cosmic Ocean, To the Skies, Extracadenza, Sacred Unreligious Soul, Transitory, Cadenza from Violin Concerto No.1 and other works were performed by the composer himself and his ensemble NICO.
Please find an excerpt from one of the reviews below:
“Lithuanian composer, conductor, pianist Gediminas Gelgotas and his ensemble conquered the Odessa audience
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His ideas in music are a clear embodiment of our current reality, where boundaries between Classical and Popular music are blurred. In fact, this is one of the directions that Classical music is taking on in our time and this direction is what helps us to keep the interest of today’s audiences, creates progress and evolution in our field.”
A music video of acclaimed cellist David Geringas performing Gediminas Gelgotas’ ‘To the Skies‘ for Cello & Piano is premiered on The Violin Channel’s ‘New Music Tuesday’, alongside with a short interview of the composer. Piece was recorded and filmed live on the 12th of December, 2019 – in Vilnius City Hall, Lithuania. This is already a second time Gelgotas’ music is presented in this worlds leading classical music news channel.
“Breadth of views, depth, freedom, mobility, courage and, most importantly, openness”
On February 2nd, 2020, the concert of Gelgotas’ music took place at the prestigious Chamber Hall of Saint Petersburg Philharmonic. Compositions Sanctifaction, Never Ignore the Cosmic Ocean, To the Skies, Extracadenza, Sacred Unreligious Soul, Transitory, Unknown 21,Free, What’s Unrobotizable was performed by the composer himself and his ensemble NICO.
“The whole concert was a spectacle, an aesthetic delight. It is obvious that Gelgotas thinks not only as a composer, but also as a Director. No wonder he called his program-show, I would say “classic show”, in which everything is arranged flawlessly-music, style, dynamics, quality of performance, choreography, light, communication with the audience. Refinement, skill, at the same time, simplicity, taste, joy. In terms of imagery, commitment to minimalism and energy, Gelgotas ‘ music echoes the work of Alfred Schnittke, but is absolutely original, the vector of movement is love of life. In it, the personality of Gediminas — breadth of views, depth, freedom, mobility, courage and, most importantly, openness. Interestingly, Gelgotas sometimes complements the sound of instruments with his singing. What an organic unity, archaic and modern! Classy. As a Creator, he feels equally comfortable in any musical space from the Baroque to the most “sharp” rhythms of the third Millennium. And yet, I would say that the music of Gelgotas is contemplation, thought is immersed in reality, and images are drawn up. He does not set boundaries between man and nature, past and future, life and death. In his music, everything lives simultaneously, interpenetrating. This is like the pulse of life, like time, which in human perception sometimes flies, then freezes, but never stops” – written by Nadezhda Rogozhina at russculture.ru
On March 16th, 2019, famous violin virtuoso Roman Kim will perform the Violin Concerto of Gelgotas in Vilnius, with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra. An exciting concert at the Compensa Concert Hall organised by the Lithuanian Philharmonic Society will showcase the Lithuanian premiere of the latest work by Gelgotas performed by Kim for the first time, as well as conducted by the composer himself. Recently Gelgotas more and more often appears in a new role – as a conductor with various symphony and chamber orchestras, letting audiences hear his works exactly as they were meant to sound, as well as giving a fresh perspective to everyone’s favourite classical masterpieces in concert halls around Europe. Tickets and information: https://goo.gl/Cm2VdU
In March 2019, Kristjan Järvi, violinist David Nebel and the Baltic Sea Philharmonic are going on tour to concert halls of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Russia. The tour programme is going to highlight Gelgotas’ newly written Violin Concerto No. 1 with David Nebel as a soloist. For full concert schedule and ticket information use the following link: https://baltic-sea-philharmonic.eu/music/concerts-schedule/
Gelgotas’ pieces To the Skies and Sanctifaction will be performed by a famous trumpet virtuoso Sergey Nakariakov, cellists David Geringas abnd Vytautas Sondeckis and composer himself at the great concert hall of St Petersburg on 27th February, 2019. Tickets: https://www.philharmonia.spb.ru/afisha/275120/
The World Premiere of Gelgotas’ first Violin Concerto took place on Saturday, July 7th at Kissinger Sommer festival (Max-Littmann Saal, Bad Kissingen). Solo part was performed by rising Swiss violin star David Nebel together with Maestro Kristjan Järvi and the Baltic Sea Philharmonic. The premiere has already been followed by great reviews and attention from the press (after as well as prior the premiere night).
The German newspaper Main Post wrote: “The Lithuanian Gelgotas unfolds wide spaces in the large orchestra, densely woven from tight intervals. Staggered slight changes in the often blocky, fine-rhythmic, even static events achieve delicate, sometimes even dramatic reverb effects. <…> Striking colour and idyll <…> as if the composer had overheard nature <…>.”
