“The Seasons”

On October 11 at Paliesius Manor, we invite you to hear “The Four Seasons”—A. Vivaldi’s immortal cycle of four concertos: “Spring,” “Summer,” “Autumn,” and “Winter.” The works will be performed and their secrets revealed by two talented musicians: violinist Gediminas Dalinkevičius and pianist Povilas Jaraminas.

Antonio Vivaldi is one of the most prominent composers of Baroque music. Born in Venice in 1678, he was also renowned as a virtuoso violinist. Vivaldi composed around 770 works, the most famous of which is the concerto cycle “The Four Seasons.” In this cycle, the composer sought to recreate the sounds of nature and people, as if painting pictures—it is true sound painting, revealing through music the softness of spring, the heat of summer, the abundance of autumn, and the cold of winter. It is a musical masterpiece of which one can simply never tire.

Violinist Gediminas Dalinkevičius graduated from the Kaunas Juozas Gruodis Music Technical College in 1962, and from the Lithuanian State Conservatory in 1968. In 1972, he became the director of the Composers’ House, and in 1975, the head of department and deputy director of the Lithuanian State Philharmonic. From 1988, he was the founder, artistic director, and conductor of the Kaunas Chamber Orchestra. From 1992, he served as the conductor and soloist of the international orchestra “Solisti Baltia.”

He is an old friend of Paliesius Manor. Alongside Povilas Jaraminas and other musicians, G. Dalinkevičius was among the first to record chamber music CDs in the Paliesius Manor studio. Most importantly, he and his fellow musicians gifted numerous concerts, organized by the restorers of Paliesius Manor, to schoolchildren from the districts of Ignalina, Švenčionėliai, Švenčionys, Visaginas, and Utena. Over 6,000 schoolchildren visited the newly built, then-unheated “Pasaga” concert hall at Paliesius Manor to listen to classical music. Following these concerts, rumors began to spread that this was a magnificent chamber hall. G. Dalinkevičius does not recall another event like this in Lithuania, calling it a true epic—one of the reasons that inspires the musician to return to Paliesius Manor.

Pianist Povilas Jaraminas is a brilliant improviser and jazz interpreter. He is one of the early pioneers of jazz in Lithuania. The performer graduated from the M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art in 1967, and from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in 1972 (Prof. O. Šteinbergaitė’s piano class). The pianist has shared the stage with such renowned vocalists as Irena Milkevičiūtė, Gegham Grigoryan, Eduardas Kaniava, Vytautas Juozapaitis, Judita Leitaitė, and others. From 1980, he served as accompanist to Virgilijus Noreika. He balances his concert activities with work at the M. K. Čiurlionis Gymnasium of Art, where he is an expert concertmaster. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Gediminas. The pianist studied together with violinist G. Dalinkevičius, and they are old friends.