20-28 April, Vilnius,
Contemporary Art Centre |
This year's Jauna Muzika, the festival dedicated to presenting the most recent trends in both Lithuanian and global contemporary (predominantly electronic) music, focuses on the various symbiotic connections between acoustic instruments and electronic sound. The combination of the traditional string quartet and electronics plays an especially prominent part in the festival's program. The Chordos String Quartet, an outstanding Lithuanian collective that is probably best prepared for rendering such complex material, will present two programs, performing both the grand contemporary classics (George Crumb's Black Angels and Steve Reich's Different Trains) and new works by top-notch Lithuanian experimenters - Šarūnas Nakas, Antanas Jasenka, Antanas Kučinskas, Justė Janulytė.
As always, renowned foreign guests are featured alongside local talents. This year they include the famous Austrian electronic guitar manipulator Fennesz and two experimental music "research and development" centers - Logos Foundation (Belgium) and STEIM (the Netherlands). These two institutions will present various stunning manifestations of machinism in music: compositions played by musical robots, computerized piano players and other sound machines.
Due attention is also given to multimedia works and installations by Lithuanian artists (including Rytis Mažulis, Arturas Bumšteinas, Vytautas V. Jurgutis, Vladimir Tarasov, and others).
Lithuanian Music Link No. 14