MEILĖS KELIAI

PATHS OF LOVE

When two musicians have performed together for many years, there are no accidental choices in their programme. Each work has been experienced on stage, refined through collaboration and has become part of the performers’ artistic lives.

Singer Asta Krikščiūnaitė and pianist Audronė Kisieliūtė have enjoyed a long-standing creative partnership. Together, they have prepared numerous chamber music programmes, paying particular attention to French music. Their concert Paths of Love at the BIRŠTONAS SUMMER OF MUSIC festival brings together works that have become an important part of both artists’ repertoire over the years.

The programme combines the lyricism and Romantic depth of Franz Schubert’s songs, the refinement of Ernest Chausson, the subtle musical colours of Maurice Ravel and the distinctive world of Francis Poulenc, in which elegance is intertwined with gentle melancholy, humour and an intimate melodic confession.

The title of the concert was inspired by Francis Poulenc’s song-waltz Les chemins de l’amour – one of the composer’s most enchanting vocal works. Its light, transparent melody conceals a sense of impending separation and the memory of a love whose paths remain engraved in the human mind.

A recipient of the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts, Asta Krikščiūnaitė celebrated forty years on stage in 2025. Her repertoire encompasses more than 700 works in a wide range of genres, including opera, oratorio, cantata, chamber vocal music and works by contemporary composers. Chamber music, however, has always held a special place in her artistic life, allowing her to focus on the word, the breathing of a phrase, the subtlest shades of the voice and an intimate dialogue with the listener.

Asta Krikščiūnaitė has performed with leading Lithuanian and international orchestras, appeared at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris and the philharmonic halls of Warsaw and Essen, and created roles at the Estonian National Opera. Her distinctions include the Estonian Order of the White Star, the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts and an honorary award from the Polish Minister of Culture. She currently heads the Department of Singing at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, where she shares her extensive stage experience with young singers.

Pianist Audronė Kisieliūtė has long been Asta Krikščiūnaitė’s partner in chamber music. The musical understanding developed over many years of collaboration enables the performers to breathe together and intuitively sense the direction of a phrase and the changing moods of the music. In their performances, chamber music becomes a dialogue between two equal partners – voice and piano.

Performers:
Asta Krikščiūnaitė, soprano
Audronė Kisieliūtė, piano

Programme: Franz Schubert, Ernest Chausson, Maurice Ravel, Francis Poulenc

Wednesday, 5 August, 7 p.m.
Birštonas Kurhaus, 2 B. Sruogos Street