Composer Feliksas Bajoras welcomed his 90th birthday in his own style – reviewing and editing old works and composing new ones. Constant change, the search for original and new musical solutions have accompanied the composer throughout his life. “What you said in the past is no longer interesting now. What was written about my work in the past is no longer true,” says Bajoras.

The idea behind the Arkos (Arches; 2023) for symphony orchestra is hidden in the title: Arkos is the links between nations, between civilisations in the world. “On the one hand, Arkos is a very Bajorian opus with an atonal, pointillist musical language. On the other hand, I also hear the composer’s intention to summarise his creative heritage. Everything fits here: the most complex percussive polyrhythms, the chant of the violins, the brass’ ‘harmonium’ – it all blends into a sophisticated arched structure with an unexpected choral coda,” is how Modestas Pitrėnas, who conducted the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra at the premiere, described the Arkos.