Jurgis Gaižauskas is a violinist, conductor, a cultural worker and and a patron of ‘village bands’. He is also one of the most prolific Lithuanian composers, whose extensive list is comprised of over a 1000 works from almost every existing genre, including songs, instrumental music for village bands, music for theatre, and even symphonies and operas. His opera for children Buratinas (1968) was the first work of its kind in Lithuania and remains popular today. It is marked out with elements characteristic of his overall creative language, such as ‘easy,’ traditional and clearly articulated musical phrasing, always composed of the ‘subject and a verb’, rich melodic textures, lyricism and playfulness. He maintains an intense link with the Lithuanian folklore and explores the pastoral and the empirical in his music.
