FAUSTAS LATĖNAS

The creative biography of composer Faustas Latėnas, the recipient of the Lithuanian National Prize, includes more than 200 works in Lithuanian and foreign theatres, feature, documentary and TV films, about half a hundred orchestral works, and an abundance of chamber music. It is the latter that is especially admired by performers and enjoys recognition all over the world. The String quartet No. 2 In Loving Memory occupies an exceptional position not only in Latėnas’ output, but also in the entire treasury of Lithuanian quartet music. The one-movement melodious and energetic opus takes one into a small musical spectacle, where one hears excerpts from the music for Smile Upon Us, Lord, the famous theatre production by the director Rimas Tuminas. According to the composer, art is born out of love for God and man, and this quartet is “dedicated to the loving memory of all the good friends who emigrated from Lithuania; it’s music for a loving memory of all the happy moments I’ve experienced; it is music for the loving memory of all dear people who are no longer with us.”