# Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis



## alfine

*Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis anyone?*

My guest book entry is to Ciurlionis (pronounced churlionis) - Lithuania's national composer and (remarkably) Lithuanian's national painter at the same time - very tidy. Wikipedia gives the life story

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikalojus_Konstantinas_Čiurlionis

I came across him by accident while working at the British Council and got to know the Lithuanian cultural attache in London who gave me a copy of his symphonic poems In the Forest and the Sea. I loved them. I then got hold of Nikoulas Lahusen's recording of his piano works (2 volumes) - in them is an extraordinary journey from Chopin to Mahler and on towards Schoenberg.

Ciurlionis seems to me to be a great forgotten intellect of European music and art - hidden by the divisions of the east and west, its only now that he is starting to be noticed as an important character. A bit like Schubert, dying young, neglected for years after his own time and only achieving a posthumous reputation. An artist that celebrated nature in music and image and a sense of national identity which is not jingoist.


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## TresPicos

I really like his paintings!


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## Taneyev

I've a CD with all his few works for string quartet. Nice, unpretentious pieces, but nothing remarkable IMO.


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## Eusebius12

I like some of his orchestral works, they have a beautiful texture, like a Lithuanian d'Indy or Vitezslav Novak....


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## Head_case

I must have the same symphonic poems and his string quartet (Vilnius String Quartet) as others here on the Chant du Monde label in my collection for the past 10 years. They play very well, and they probably extract as much detail from the music as I can fathom, so they are pleasing in that regard, but not exactly exhilarating in the way that Moeran's naturalistic string quartets are; or perhaps even Glazunov's Quartet No. IV, let alone Myaskovsky's Quartets No. V, VII, VIII, IX & XI, with its lyrically pastoral themes and distinctly Russian soundscape, but certainly in the same romantic and nationalistic tradition of his own making. 

He piqued my curiosity in university and unsurprisingly, the blurb in Wikipedia sounds rather dated and similar to what was circulated about Ciurlionis. I'm afraid I'm of the same opinion as Taneyev when it comes to an assessment of his string quartet work. His symphonic poems are pleasing background music to my ears. There is nothing unattractive about it and they have slowly been gaining wider recognition.


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## Aramis

​
*Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (22 September [O.S. 10 September] 1875 -10 April [O.S. 28 March] 1911) was a Lithuanian painter and composer.​*
Recently I received substantial set of his recorded works from fellow composer and musicologist. Čiurlionis wrote a lot of very good music for piano. His two symphonic poems are also splendid and they prove that his early death at age of 35 (in the same year that Mahler died) was great loss for art.

Anyone ever heard of him? He is one of very few composers from Lithuania and probably only one from this period that is still remembered.

There is not much of his music on YouTube (I'm considering uploading some of works I possessed). You could find something but I won't give any links since no works that I would recommend are avaiable out there to listen.


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## Head_case

I'm not the best person to comment on anything other than string quartet music however I do have an album of his from the Chant du monde "Saison Russe' releases which brought together his best known works - 'The Sea' and his symphonic poem, 'In the Forest', as well as his string quartet by the Vilnius String Quartet. 

I bought it for the string quartet of course

He certainly piques the interest of many classical music fans who wish to hear interpretations of the natural world and its inspiration on composers (think Debussy etc). I've yet to find a Ciurlionis devotee, although his music is very pleasant - the symphonic works and the string quartet (if a little unmemorable)

The string quartet is perhaps not the most exciting thing since sliced bread although I do like it when I remember to play it. Perhaps the playing could be a little more fiery or passionate, however it is more than serviceable. I like the symphonic works alongside the gentle and pastoral works by composers using nature as similar themes. 

The Vilnius String Quartet are memorable to me, mostly for the premier of Eugenius Knapik's famous string quartet (1980). They were due to premier the string quartet, however cancelled two weeks before the show. The Silesian String Quartet stood in, learning the parts within 2 weeks. When the composer arrived, he was shocked to find two string quartets present - so they both gave their own interpretations which were radically different. 

Years later, Knapik admitted that the Silesian Quartet were his foremost interpreters of his epic string quartet, leaving the Vilnius String Quartet somewhat side-lined


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## TrevBus

The disc of his Tone Poems(In The Forest and The Sea)is one of my favorite disc that I own. Do you know if any of his other music(a string Quartet was mentioned)has been recorded?


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## Joachim Raff

This release by the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Modestas Pitrėnas includes the complete surviving symphonic oeuvre of the great Lithuanian composer Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875-1911) restored back into their original versions. Čiurlionis was conceptually ahead of his time and the uniqueness and aesthetic value of his compositions have been fully understood only during the last decades.


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