Algirdas Martinaitis is a true type of a romantic creator also in his heart, and remains being such in spite of his recent digressions. Back in the late 70's, when he made his debut together with the like-minded composers of 'neo-romantic' generation, his nature-inspired chamber compositions were distinguished for their exceptional poetic sensibility and deep emotional impact. This 'nature cycle' culminated in Cantus ad futurum (1982) – chamber cantata-concerto, acknowledged as one of the most important works in Lithuanian music of the late 20th century, becoming a manifesto for that whole generation of composers. Another cycle of chamber works followed in the beginning of 90'ies, called The Book of the Beginning and the End. The images of evil, bestiality and the Last Judgement replaced a sad beauty of withering trees, drying rivers and vanishing birds. In his recent works, the composer consistently provokes reflection on the boundaries of authorship, opposing the categories of individuality and originality with allusions to banality, mimicry, and repetition. Another important and completely different part of his recent oeuvre is religious music.
