The Eighth Alexander Paley Music Marathon “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

Let the last Saturday of summer be filled with music! World-renowned piano virtuoso Alexander Paley and three other talented performers invite you to the eighth music marathon—a magical “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

This marathon is dedicated to the music of German composer Felix Mendelssohn. According to A. Paley, he is a deeply significant figure in world music and one of the most important composers in history—”a man kissed by God, a second Mozart.” The composer, a true child prodigy, passed away at just thirty-eight, yet he penned a remarkable number of works throughout his life. “His entire life is like ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,'” says A. Paley.

A. Paley and other talented musicians will perform not only such celebrated works by F. Mendelssohn as the “Wedding March” written for the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” but also compositions sounding in Lithuania for the very first time—for instance, the String Octet, which the composer himself transcribed for piano four hands. The concept of the event itself is also unique in Lithuania: a full day devoted entirely to the music of this single composer.

The fiery piano virtuoso Alexander Paley leaves no one indifferent to his talent and charisma. Audiences give him standing ovations, and critics spare no praise. His dream of playing the piano was born in early childhood, when the young pianist eagerly awaited the chance to first touch the keys of a “Belarus” upright piano.

Honored with a multitude of world-class awards, the pianist has performed and is always welcomed at the most prestigious concert halls and festivals. The list includes “Radio France,” “Theatre des Champs-Elysees,” “Salle Pleyel,” “Salle Gaveau” (Paris), “Grands Interprètes” (Lyon), the Lille Piano Festival, the Besançon Opera Theater, “Leipzig Gewandhaus,” “Concertgebouw” (Amsterdam), “Laeiszhalle” (Hamburg), concert halls in China, and elsewhere.

As the years go by, A. Paley’s star does not fade—living between New York, Paris, and Vilnius, the pianist gives around 80 concerts worldwide each year.

Pei-Wen Chen, born in Taipei, Taiwan, debuted at the prestigious “Carnegie Hall” in New York shortly after completing her piano studies at the “Mannes College of Music” in New York. She is a laureate of international piano competitions and a participant in world-class projects. The pianist regularly performs in Europe as well as on other continents and has collaborated with many renowned artists, such as Licia Abanese, Elly Ameling, Regina Resnik, Jon Vickers, Evelyn Lear, Diane Soviero, Deborah Voigt, Ruth Falcon, Mignon Dunn, Sherril Milnes, Olga Peretyako, and others. Concerts with her husband, Alexander Paley, hold a special place in her artistic career.

She joined the Washington Opera Company for their production of the opera “Fedora,” worked at the “Metropolitan Opera” and “Amato Opera” theaters, and directed various prestigious opera and concert performance projects in the US. The pianist has taught at several US universities and is currently a professor at the “Mannes College of Music” in New York and “Montclair State University” in New Jersey. In 2017, P. W. Chen was appointed as a pianist for the Shanghai Classical Singers Competition and has served as a jury member for multiple international vocal competitions.

Violinist Raimondas Butvila played in the State Lithuanian Quartet and was the first concertmaster of the current State Symphony Orchestra. In 1993, under a creative cooperation agreement between Lithuania and Venezuela, he traveled to this South American country. In Caracas, he served as the musical director of the Emil Friedman College and as a professor at the University of the Arts (UNEARTE), preparing several generations of professional musicians over 18 years. As a soloist, he frequently played with Venezuelan orchestras, performing the principal repertoire for violin concertos. He played a great deal of chamber music and was a member of the “Trio Academico Emil Friedman.”

He returned to Lithuania in 2011 and is the Head of the String Instruments Department and a professor at the Vytautas Magnus University Music Academy.

Since 2013, a very active artistic collaboration began with his former fellow student, the world-renowned piano virtuoso Alexander Paley. They have held philharmonic recitals in Lithuania and a concert with the VMU Chamber Orchestra, during which J. Haydn and F. Mendelssohn concertos for violin and keyboard were performed. Through this creative partnership, the complete chamber repertoires of L. van Beethoven, W. A. Mozart, F. Schubert, S. Prokofiev, and J. Brahms have been played. Since 2016, R. Butvila has participated in the annual festival organized by A. Paley in Moulin d’Ande, France.

Cellist Marius Dominykas Sakavičius was born in 1994. He graduated in cello at the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art, in the class of teacher Romanas Armonas. He also completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in performing arts (cello) at the VMU Music Academy, in the class of Assoc. Prof. Ramutė Kalnėnaitė.

The performer is a participant and laureate of various national and international masterclasses and competitions, having played as a soloist with various orchestras. The young cellist is also a member of the newly formed piano trio “Vytautas magnus trio,” and in the contemporary art scene, he actively participates in various projects, collaborating with the contemporary dance performance and creation team “Šeiko šokio teatras.” His music has graced stages not only in Lithuania but also in Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Portugal, Denmark, Israel, and Great Britain.