Osvaldas Balakauskas is one of the most distinctive and unique Lithuanian composers. As a symbol of Western modernity, especially after the restoration of Lithuania’s independence in 1990, he has become the most important authority on the new style. His musical language is distinctly modern; his compositional technique is based on dodecaphony and other serial principles. His music is characterised by a variety of stylistic trends, including impressionism and neoclassicism, as well as elements of jazz.

Kalnų sonata (Sonata of the Mountains) for piano and orchestra was written on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. Balakauskas described the score as a symphony-concerto. It uses thematic material from several of Čiurlionis’ piano pieces, which Balakauskas has transformed in a free and original way, “without any quotations or structural-language links”, as the composer said. The programmatic titles of the movements, The Mountain of Love, The Mountain of Serenity and The Mountain of Storms, seem to complement the themes of Čiurlionis’ pictorial sonatas.

As a tribute to Čiurlionis and as a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of this eminent creator, Balakauskas’ Kalnų sonata (Sonata of the Mountains) is performed by pianist Petras Geniušas and the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra led by the French maestro Victorien Vanoosten.