Articles

https://www.7md.lt/muzika/2020-02-21/Crescendo-i-tyla

Some composers form a recognizability of their music works through the chosen technological directions, other composers – through the peculiarities of genres, styles, instrumentation and so on. The creative treasury of composer and violoncellist Arvydas Malcys is best recognizable from its dynamic and expressive character, abundant contrasts and saturated music language of orchestra often prone to sonorism. Although titles of his works prompt to be programmatical to a certain extent, the music creation of this composer is in reality close to the pure music not bound with any “out-music” meanings or narratives.

The cycle of concerts “Alma mater musicalis” arranged by Lithuanian Musicians’ Support Fund frequently presents laureates of the Lithuanian Government Prize or the National Prize. On 10 February of the current year, “Alma mater musicalis” had arranged a recital of music works created by laureate of the Lithuanian Government Prize A. Malcys. For those who only heard inter alia about the composer (although his music is often presented at our concert halls); in my opinion, the recital represented the general peculiarities of the creation of the composer rather well.

The concert consisted of four works by A. Malcys of good reputation: “Cleaved Silence” and “Plexus” for string orchestra as well as the Concerto for a clarinet and chamber orchestra and the Concerto for an accordion and string orchestra. In the recital, excellent performers were involved: soloists were two eminent artists of the young generation – clarinetist Vytautas Giedraitis and accordionist Tadas Motiečius ; the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra (art director Sergejus Krylovas) was conducted by Vilmantas Kaliūnas (a conductor of German orchestras and Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra) who has arranged many programs with Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra as well. A. Malcys excellently knows this music group – their creative cooperation continues for almost two decennaries and results, in addition to involvement of works by A. Malcys in various programs and arrangement of concerts of works created by the composer, the recorded albums of his music works.

Music by A. Malcys can be assigned to a genre of the modern music that naturally evolves from the tradition; however, it does not break the tradition and only causes an individual transformation of it. At the concert, it became evident that the composer does not avoid reprises, projections of different styles of the past or the traditional set of forms of work (a concert consists of three parts and so on). The typical peculiarities include dynamism of music, sometimes even sharp contrasts and the general trend of growing of all music parameters united the total program of the concert.

“Cleaved Silence” is distinguished for very broad emotional amplitude – from quiet dreaminess up to ardent internal ecstasy. Very sharp and frequent contrasts of musical materials sometimes are even chaotic. In this work, the composer manipulates with timbres of the string; however, he does not avoid using various micromotions that predetermine the sonoristic character of some episodes. Finally, the augmentation of all music parameters by crescendo achieves the culmination, an explosion occurs and then everything comes back to the origin – the Silence. Playing of the orchestra was technically excellent; nevertheless, more nuances of interpretation could be found namely in the first work of the concert’s program, because it provided abundant space for individual ideas of the performers.

Probably, the Concerto for a clarinet and chamber orchestra was the most impressive part of the concert. A soloist was V. Giedraitis. The composition was dedicated to late clarinetist Algirdas Doveika and a certain semantic link of the performance was strengthened by the fact that the young soloist played the clarinet of A. Doveika. This opus created by A. Malcys has an original sacrosanct aura. Its Part One starts by movement towards the light – the answer of the orchestra to the ascending passages of the clarinet finally “transforms” into a quiet chord that provides a background for expressive representation of the soloist. The Part Two is of dark and gloomy character, it seems to be an odd sort of memento, with abundant yearning and nostalgia. The Part Three is started calmly by the orchestra. The orchestra as if enframes the part of the soloist until finally everything grows into a mass of sounds. In the end, the clarinet arises again over the general facture, as if looking to the abandoned world from the sky until finally disappears like a mirage or a fragile, impalpable human being... V. Giedraitis is highly talented performer; in addition, the acoustic parameters of the Church of St. Johns highlighted his talent to the maximum extent.

While presenting two remained works, musicologist Laimutė Ligeikaitė mentioned the attitude of the composer to ignore frames of different styles and genres in the said works and to mix various “music fragrances”. In “Plexus”, it is implemented by a variety of rhythm- and melody-related solutions. In some fragments, almost folk motives are heard, in others – even light reverberation of jazz. Nevertheless, all of them are duly arranged in the frame of the traditional academic music. The composition is distinguished for a general trend of growing of all musical parameters, a predilection to combine drastically different tempos and moods.

In the end of the recital, the Concerto for an accordion and string orchestra was presented. The work had been created for Raimondas Sviackevičius, one of the most eminent today accordionists and a tireless music interpreter. At the recital of A. Malcys, the work was played by Tadas Motiečius (a talented student of R. Sviackevičius) who is also infected by the virus of modern music.

In the Concerto for an accordion and string orchestra, the ratio between the soloist and the orchestra is interpreted in some another way, as compared to the Concerto for a clarinet. The part of the soloist is as if “soaked” in the total facture of the work; it surfaces for a short while and then joins up with the orchestra. The statement that this work strives to ignore stylistic limits is mostly highlighted in the Part Three of the opus. Here a light hospitable melody appears – as if directly from Montmartre in Paris. It is also an original reminiscence about versatility of the instrument.

I’d like to characterize the recital of A. Malcys as emblem-like event. In my opinion, the heard music works at the concert of the cycle “Alma mater musicalis” disclose the most typical peculiarities of the creation of the composer. This music, in particular interpreted by talented performers, causes an unrepeatable impression to listeners.