On October 3, the Lithuanian contemporary music festival Music Autumn kicks off in Vilnius. This year, the festival not only showcases an impressive number of premieres but also features an expanded international program, including guests from Spain, the UK, Canada, and more.
The festival invites audiences to reflect on global challenges and how they are mirrored in today’s music by various composers.
Global Issues
According to the festival’s director, Robertas Bliškevičius, this year’s theme addresses the significance and scale of global problems. It not only highlights the challenges facing the planet or specific regions but, more importantly, raises a poignant question: why, even though we are aware of these issues, are we unable to unite and save the world?
“Robotization, climate change, population growth, and geopolitical conflicts are just a few of the themes explored in this year’s program,” says Bliškevičius. “In Lithuania, the music world—unlike theater or visual arts—has traditionally been less engaged in discussing socially relevant issues and societal concerns.”
The festival aims to create an open space for both artists and the public. “Musicians speak about contemporary issues, society engages with the music, and we connect contexts and opinions, allowing us to view both the problems and the music from a fresh perspective,” Bliškevičius continues. “This is why Music Autumn is increasingly referred to as an anthropological festival, as it explores a specific topic or phenomenon within the spectrum of today’s music and creativity.”
Most of the festival’s events will take place at the Energy and Technology Museum in Vilnius, as has become the tradition, with additional performances at the Liepkalnis Water Storage and Sapieha Palace.
Premieres and International Program
This year’s program features a record number of premieres—14 in total, along with several international compositions being performed for the first time in Lithuania. The audience will hear works from well-known composers such as Arturas Bumšteinas and Egidija Medekšaitė, as well as exciting new pieces from rising talents of the youngest generation, including Liepa Vozgirdaitė and Lukas Butkus.
While the sheer number of premieres is a cause for celebration, Bliškevičius notes that it also reveals certain trends: “It’s undoubtedly a sign of the vitality and creative potential of our music scene. At the same time, it indicates the need for more events, ensembles, and institutions dedicated to initiating and presenting the latest works by Lithuanian composers.”
The works have been commissioned not only by the festival but also by the Lithuanian Composers’ Union, LRT Klasika, and several ensembles.
A New Focus on International Collaboration
This year’s festival marks the debut of an expanded international program. Although Music Autumn has been primarily dedicated to showcasing Lithuanian composers since its inception in 1972, the festival is now broadening its horizons, building international connections, and embracing change.
Through collaborations between performers from Lithuania and abroad, and the inclusion of international ensembles, the program presents works by both Lithuanian and foreign composers. This, Bliškevičius points out, strengthens the international significance of Lithuanian contemporary music and fosters the exchange of ideas on a global scale.
“This year, international creators and performers will expand the spectrum of relevant topics, approaches, and interpretations, allowing us to listen more closely to how music reflects the global threats we face and the possible futures of humanity. The international program offers a natural evolution for our audience to engage more deeply with contemporary music,” says Bliškevičius.
Thought-Provoking Concerts on Vital Themes
The festival will open on October 3 with a performance by the contemporary music ensemble Synaesthesis, presenting their latest program, Digital Conditions, featuring five compositions that delve into the fragmented state of the modern human psyche, constantly torn between reality and the digital world. A festival launch discussion will precede the concert.
In the first weekend, audiences will experience a joint project by the vocal ensemble Melos and the Spanish ensemble Vertixe Sonora, titled Old Things Resonate New, where everyday objects and discarded items will be reborn with new meanings. At the Liepkalnis Water Storage, composer Matas Drukteinis, along with the Chordos string quartet, will explore the challenges of population dynamics and related issues in the audio-visual work One More Billion Problems?
On October 9, the festival will welcome Canadian guests—the legendary Quasar saxophone quartet—who will perform a program specially prepared with works by both Lithuanian and international composers. Another concert will feature the ensemble LENsemble alongside German composer and electronic music studio Experimentalstudio des SWR collaborator Thomas Hummel, creating a dialogue between human and algorithmic elements.
A standout project at Sapieha Palace will showcase the work of Twenty Fingers Duo and their UK collaborators, GBSR Duo, with premieres by Lithuanian composer Julius Aglinskas and UK composer Lawrence Dunn, born out of their joint residency In Between Silence.
A Grand Finale with Ecological Themes
On October 12, the festival will close with the performative live music and movement installation Islands, by the Šeiko Dance Company, held at the Liepkalnis Water Storage. The performance explores themes of ecology and sustainability, accompanied by Jonas Jurkūnas’ vision of a possible dystopian future in the piece Artefacts of Human Civilization in Robotic Folklore.