VLADAS JAKUBĖNAS

The works of composer Vladas Jakubėnas, the famous interwar music modernist, influential music critic and distinguished personality of Lithuanian diaspora, fascinate with their form, integrity, melodic shifts and idiosyncratic vocabulary. Serenade for cello and piano is no exception. Due to its form the opus is often dubbed Serenade-Rhapsody, the cello part showcases ornate and rich melodies, and the music resounds with Spanish temperament, dance rhythms and Southern expression. The cellist Rokas Vaitkevičius, a member and founder of one of today’s most prominent Lithuanian ensembles, the Mettis String Quartet, also the principal cello of the LCO and a faculty member at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, performs Jakubėnas’ Serenade with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra (arranged for the orchestra by Arvydas Malcys). Conductor – Hugo Ticciati.