ATODŪSIAI IR AISTROS

SIGHS AND PASSIONS

The BIRŠTONAS SUMMER OF MUSIC festival invites audiences to Sighs and Passions, a recital by pianist Šviesė Čepliauskaitė in which Romantic poetry, virtuoso brilliance and a rich world of emotions come together.

The programme features music by two great nineteenth-century composers, Fryderyk Chopin and Franz Liszt. It includes Chopin’s Ballade No. 2 in F major, Polish songs arranged for piano by Liszt, the third piece from Liebesträume (Dreams of Love), the concert étude Un sospiro (A Sigh), the Rigoletto Concert Paraphrase and one of the most impressive Transcendental Études.

A special place in the programme is given to Šviesė Čepliauskaitė’s own Fantasy on themes from Prince Antoni Henryk Radziwiłł’s music for Goethe’s Faust. Born in Vilnius, Radziwiłł was a nobleman, politician, composer and cellist whose name is associated with one of the most fascinating chapters in the history of European Romanticism. Captivated by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust, he was the first composer to undertake a musical setting of the work and continued refining it for many years while maintaining contact with Goethe himself. Radziwiłł’s compositions are regarded as the first operatic interpretation of Goethe’s Faust. Čepliauskaitė’s Fantasy recalls a now rarely discussed connection between Lithuanian and European cultural history.

Šviesė Čepliauskaitė performs actively in Lithuania and abroad, presenting solo recitals and chamber music programmes. She appears at international festivals, gives masterclasses, serves on the juries of international competitions and is an associate professor at the Music Academy of Vytautas Magnus University.

Her concerts are distinguished by their special atmosphere. Through her spoken introductions, Čepliauskaitė leads listeners into the world of the music, illuminating the circumstances of the composers’ lives, their creative ideas and the emotional context of their works. Her recitals thus become not only musical performances but also vivid narratives about music, people and their time.

The music of Fryderyk Chopin occupies an important place in Šviesė Čepliauskaitė’s repertoire. She was the first pianist in Lithuania to record all of the composer’s waltzes. Her recordings include F. Chopin. Waltzes, CHOPIN LT, M. K. Ogiński. Farewell to the Homeland and SENSIBILE. She has also recorded works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Fryderyk Chopin and Karol Szymanowski for Lithuanian Radio.

In recognition of her contribution to culture, the pianist has received the Polish honorary distinction Zasłużony dla Kultury Polskiej and the Gold Cross of Merit awarded by the President of the Republic of Poland.

At Birštonas Kurhaus, Šviesė Čepliauskaitė will tell stories of love and longing, dreams and creative passion – not only through words, but above all through music. Sighs and Passions promises a Romantic and virtuosic festival evening filled with unexpected historical connections.

Performer:
Šviesė Čepliauskaitė, piano

Programme: Fryderyk Chopin, Franz Liszt, Antoni Henryk Radziwiłł, Šviesė Čepliauskaitė

6 August, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Birštonas Kurhaus, 2 B. Sruogos Street