Balys Dvarionas

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Balys Dvarionas (19 June [O.S. 6 June] 1904 in Liepaja — 23 August 1972 in Vilnius) was a Lithuanian and Soviet composer, pianist, conductor and educationalist. Dvarionas displayed himself as a composer after World War II. His works are abundant with romanticism, and the pieces are based on folk songs.

[edit] Biography

Balys Dvarionas was born in a big family of an organist. Along with his ten sisters and brothers, Dvarionas was taught music from his very childhood. Later Dvarionas had private lessons from Alfrēds Kalniņš, the famous Latvian comoposer. After completing the middle school of commerce, Dvarionas worked as an organist and a conductor of Youth Choir of Lithuanian Societyin Liepaja. In 1920, Dvarionas went to Leipzig, where he studied piano at the Conservatory. After graduating from the Conservatory in 1924, Dvarionas came back to Kaunas, Lithuania where he performed his first recital, and afterwards studied piano in Berlin under Egon Petri, a famous German pianist.

Apart from his musical career, Balys Dvarionas made his debut as a teacher. He began teaching piano at Kaunas Music School (from 1933 — Conservatory) and in 1949 he started working at the Music Academy in Vilnius, where he continued teaching until the end of his life. Dvarionas was awarded a professor's title in 1947. Dvarionas's pupils: conductor Rimas Geniušas, pianists Liucija Drąsutienė, Aleksandras Jurgelionis, Gražina Ručytė-Landsbergienė, Halina Znaidzilauskaitė.

In 1930s, Dvarionas emerged as a conductor as well. He attended conductors' courses in Salzburg and in 1939 he passed his examinations as an external student at the Conservatory in Leipzig. From 1935 until 1938 Dvarionas was a conductor of Kaunas Radiophone Orchestra. In 1939 he established the Vilnius City Orchestra together with the well-known Lithuanian architect Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis, and worked as a conductor there until the Lithuanian Philharmonic Orchestra was established, where he occupied a position of a head conductor in 1940-1941 and 1958-1964.

[edit] Works

Dvarionas composed miscellanious works ranging from opera, ballet, symphony to music for films and theatres. Balys Dvarionas, together with another famous Lithuanian composer Jonas Švedas, was vested in composing music for the Anthem of Lithuanian SSR.

Dvarionas's musical works are distinctive for their melody, emotionality, familiar motives from folk tunes. In spite of developing the musical images, the composer prefers exposition and juxtaposition of various musical ideas. The music by Dvarionas seems extemporaneous but natural, flexible in rhythmics, and makes an impression of clear and colourful mood.

Most notable works by Balys Dvarionas: