Articles

http://www.7md.lt/muzika/2017-03-03/Atpazistamas-ir-preciziskas-pasaulis

The year 2017 is an extraordinary year for composer Arvydas Malcys. It is marked by an anniversary of his maturity, by the monograph about his creation “Ten Stages of Creation by Arvydas Malcys” created by Armenian composer and musicologist Mikhail Kokzhayev was published in Moscow, and by the future compact disc “The Marks of the Fate” that presents music created by the composer for the symphonic orchestra, premieres of new music works and author’s concerts. The first of them took place at Vilnius Saint Catherine Church on 24 February, when only 2 days after 60-year jubilee of A. Malcys. In the cosy environment of Saint Catherine Church, the music world of the composer in the nowadays was professionally and sensitively disclosed by Vilnius Municipality Saint Christopher Chamber Orchestra conducted by Donatas Katkus and guests – soloists Bogdana Pivnenko (a violin, Ukraine), Hartmut Rohde (a viola, Germany) and Vytautas Giedraitis (a clarinet, Lithuania).

The programme of A. Malcys author’s concert included his brightest opuses for string orchestra - “The Split Silence” and „The Kite of Hope“, the Concert for a clarinet and chamber orchestra, the Concert for a violin, a viola and the string orchestra, having been already recognizable because of the distinctive creative manner and internal narrativeness of music, and premiere versions of earlier works for chamber orchestra - „The Hyacinth in the Snowfield” and „Bolero“. The compositions presented one after another disclosed the miscellaneous world-outlook of A. Malcys that combines the expressionistic stridency and impressionistic phonism, neo-classical form and neo-romantic poetics, personified parts of instruments and narrative music dramaturgy and so on. It is impossible to describe the music world of A. Malcys by a single word or composing technique – it includes abundant different things!

In composition for string orchestra “The Split Silence”, according to literary concert leader musicologist Viktoras Gerulaitis, A. Malcys „strives to be subtle with silence“. It is an expressionistic 13-minute mosaic of imaginable silence and irritable accords that disturb it; the mosaic “is formed of various details of the strings and structures of motion impulses in accordance with laws of equilibrium and symmetry “(Asta Pakarklytė). The middle part of the music work is as if filled with slips of indefinite height pitches that cause a culmination and a catharsis of the latter causes an appearance of split silence.

„The Kite of the Hope” excellently illustrates one more orbit of the music world of A. Malcys where the principle of “music in music” is flying with a peculiar speed and in a peculiar manner. It is a respectful look of the composer at the past and a touch to playfulness and tonality of music created by Mozart. The composition for the string orchestra seems to be constructed of two motifs only that are accompanied by abundant modulations and sequences. Here A. Malcys uses no excerptions; however, it seems that he created the composition easily, like Mozart did.

The creative garner of works for orchestra by A. Malcys included 11 instrumental concerts. In the Concert for a clarinet and chamber orchestra delivered at Saint Catherine Church, a soloist was winner of international competitions, clarinetist of trio „Claviola“ Vytautas Giedraitis. He is particularly sensible to musical expression, his technique is highly professional, the amplitude of his abilities is very broad, the strokes are precise, the tones are pure, and phrasing and breathing are excellent. Probably, the above-mentioned, in addition to high professional level of the performer, are also caused by an ability of A. Malcys to highlight a soloist, to compose modern and sophisticated melody accompanied by a reverential (in a good sense) assistant – the chamber orchestra. It is not a panegyric; the work is really excellent in all the aspects.

Could I be same positive in respect of the Concert for a violin, a viola and the string orchestra? Foreign soloists, namely, violinist of the young generation B. Pivnenko and eminent violist and orchestra conductor H. Rohde are worthy of the best assessment, they performed their roles excellently. Maybe, the space for proving and demonstrating their professionalism was too limited in this composition. In the Concert for a violin, a viola and the string orchestra, soloists are personified, they as if narrate their histories and the musical and emotional process rotates around them. They confront with the orchestra, provide impulses for dramaturgy and achieving the culminations; however, the latter are suddenly cut on their tops. I think, they could unexpectedly grow into a moderate melody or a contrast episode that would move them to the other dimension, other world – the recognizable and precise world of music created by A. Malcys.

„Today is the Lark Day, so a song will be presented “, – V. Gerulaitis playfully informs. The song is a version of composition „ The Hyacinth in the Snowfield” for a chamber orchestra. A hyacinth, the flower called a messenger of coming spring by poets and gods, is symbolized by bright leading motif that forms a spiral shape of the work. As it is written in the booklet for presentation of the concert, in this music work, “the scale intonations and forms move from the sentimental lyrism to the playful scherzo, minimalistic pointillism to tonal thematic invention.” This music work of epic character that - because of its internal energy, moderate harmony and repetitiveness - approaches to the stylistics of salon or popular music proves that creation by A. Malcys is miscellaneous and includes the idea of “musical poetics”.

The intonations of retrospective music, as one of the peculiarities of music created by A. Malcys, were particularly striking in composition „Bolero“ (the version „The Eccentric Bolero” for a chamber orchestra) that was performed for the first time. From the first seconds, a listener insensibly begins comparing this music work to the famous chef d’oeuvre created by eminent French composer Maurice Ravel. The similarities of two works are really abundant: ostinato rhythm set by the percussions, gradually densifying facture, form of variations that plays with timbres and dynamics. Nevertheless „Bolero“ by A. Malcys is not an insolent repeat of a retrospective work, it is a peculiar attitude and association composed by new and modern means of music language.

While watching the concert of creation by A. Malcys, it may be seen that the programme of the concert was particularly well-considered. Its structure enabled disclosing the ideas typical for the author, such as “musical poetics”, „music in music“, musical narrativeness, personification of music instruments, various possibilities provided by composing techniques. Nevertheless, independently of the base of the music work, the hand of A. Malcys are recognizable in it.