Modest Pitrėnas will not have time to celebrate his anniversary for a long time – right after his birthday, he will go to Switzerland, St. Gallen, because he is also the artistic director of the city’s symphony orchestra. An opera production awaits him there. The first concert this fall, when he will stand at the conductor’s desk in Vilnius, at the National Philharmonic, will be on September 28. The Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra will open the season with the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and the rising piano star from South Korea, Jinhyung Park.
Between work and holidays – a conversation with the maestro about music, career, maturity as a conductor.
– Maestro, you started your musical career more than thirty years ago by playing the organ in Vilnius Jurgis Matulaitis church and leading the choir, then you taught singing to future priests. Why did you choose such a specific direction?
– It was not specific to me, but a natural continuation of the formation I had, as the monks say. My family is religious, Catholic, church and services were normal for me. Maybe at first – not so conscious. But to each live a turning point comes in the life of a believer, a conversion to conscious faith. At some point you have to become a neophyte – a new believer, if you don’t, you are a slave to the system.
Now especially non-believers like to say that the Church is almost a repressive structure – a system in which you are an invisible screw. Maybe it looks that way from the outside. But if you are inside the Church, if you are alive – thinking, feeling and believing, you are a full member of it, who is strong and can perhaps offer a helping hand to others.
And no one disturbs you in that Church – not a chatty pastor with stupid cat sermons, not a nun muttering rosaries nearby. No one will be able to derail you. You have a foundation, which of course is questioned by inner voices every day, but if the foundation is solid, you have a good chance of staying.
I fell into very good hands of catechesis and ecumenism. That community chebra and good preachers were the cocktail that formed the moral backbone. Then I flew like a fly into a kind of spider web and was in it for a long time. Not only as an organist, other competencies were also needed. I prepared, perhaps, the first community hymn in Lithuania – I composed it, we received funding.
Apparently, there is no other parish in our country, except Jurgios Matulaitis, which would have its own separate hymnal, it is still used today. Then I was noticed by the seminary, which at that time was very strong, had many – perhaps 80 – seminarians. Now I am proud to know a large generation of priests who grew up in those years, I see my students in churches (smiling).
– Then – studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater, studies abroad, winning competitions… How did you choose symphonic conducting after initially studying choral conducting?
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I was never far from professional music. Not that I felt like it not happened the musician playing the organ – everything was fine with me. From the age of 16, I led the parish choir – ta chebra was important to me too. A conductor cannot be alone, he is absolutely not a soldier in any field. If you manage to gather around you passionate, motivated, enthusiastic and at the same time friendly people, who dig life by the knuckles, that jouze can grow a lot of fruitful plants.
After Vilnius, my studies continued in Salzburg, where I began to delve into symphonic and opera conducting, after returning, I continued symphonic conducting studies with Juoz Domarkas, I finished them, after a little while I started to work in practice – the maestro hired me to assist him in the National Symphony Orchestra or prepare children’s programs. The first independent projects and commitments appeared.
I won the competition to conduct the Kaunas Symphony Orchestra, then I went to Riga, the Latvian National Opera – I worked everywhere, biblically speaking, for seven years. I have been working in Switzerland for seven years now, leading the symphony orchestra of the city of St. Gallen. That I have been there for so long is a kind of record for them, because the usual term of a conductor is three years. I went through a lot of music in those seven years.
– Before coming to lead the National Symphony Orchestra in 2015, was the Philharmonic in your plans as a possible career stop?
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As I remember the conversation with Domark, it was my first assistance to him. I was maybe a second or third year professor’s student when he took me to work in Klaipėda, where “Karmen” was being built. I felt like a complete stranger, there was just too much information.
I saw how the maestro works with vocalists, with choirs, what kind of relationship he creates with the director – his brother, such greats as the eternally silent Virgilij Noreika – what a battle of titans takes place on the stage, who will convince whom! To me, a milk-mouth from the bench of the academy, it seemed like some kind of space.
I didn’t expect any words of encouragement from the professor, but I said one phrase – I really felt that way, and I wanted him to hear it from me: “Maestro, even if nothing comes out of me at all, I am very grateful to you for this experience.” He shrugged his shoulders. – in a very homely, beautifully paternal way: “Well, why don’t you go out?” Maybe it will work out.” His “maybe it will work out” stuck with me so much. And I myself began to think that it might be the case that it is necessary to try more.
Those “maybe it will work out” kind of unlocked me. As I often say: without that flailing of my elbows, I’m like water looking to drain over very interesting terrain. I wouldn’t want to change my musical path and have it be different than what I had. Maybe this is fatalism? But it seems to me that in some sense it is earned. There are things you influence and things that influence you. The harmony of circumstances, environment and opportunities creates everyone’s destiny or career.
– A major work at the end of the summer was the concert “650 Kilometers of Freedom” dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the Baltic Road and broadcast live on television, when you led the international team of choirs, ensemble “Lietuva”, and musicians of the National Symphony Orchestra. Was there a lot of improvisation? What other important things have you planned to do in this anniversary year?
– Everything had to be extremely well coordinated and work well, because the composition of the show is very complex. The music is multifaceted – choral, electronic, and a capellaand folk instruments, and a symphony orchestra. Only her because it’s not easy, and there are a lot of challenges for everything to be compatible with the television visuals, to resonate like a concert film. It must have been a very turbulent time for director Dalis Abaris.
We started organizing this event a year and a half ago – that’s how much time has passed since the first meeting, and then the email communication was the longest I’ve ever had. Such projects look like a fountain, like a splash, but they really require a lot of thought. And the fact that the dress rehearsal was a complete fiasco, we couldn’t connect any of the storylines with the music, but we managed the concert, shows even more how fantastic this project is.
I don’t know if I could call it an event for myself musically. I didn’t give up and didn’t give up, every concert is an event for me. I say this without pomp. Why should I be different?
For example, at the opening concert of the season of the National Symphony Orchestra, I will conduct the Warsaw Choir, the great South Korean pianist – star Jinhyung Park will play, then other music celebrities will visit, with whom every appearance on the stage becomes very special and precious.
I have productions of two of my favorite wonderful operas in Switzerland this year, Love for Three Oranges by Sergei Prokofiev and Elektra by Richard Strauss. All jobs are important to me and very, very interesting.
– In other words, you live an interesting life.
“Actually, I’ve never lived any other way.”
– The present time is your maturity as a conductor?
– I think that the maturity of a conductor comes later. Perhaps now the scissors of opportunity and physical strength have crossed. The energy bar is still high, but it is already lowering, and the opportunities and knowledge are still rising.
I’m at that beautiful crossroads when I can still express with my body the things I feel – I already feel and understand a lot, although, to be honest, still not enough. If you think that you are already a mature meter, a tough explainer of how someone should behave, this is a sign that maybe you should retreat.
– What prevents you from stopping, lawn forward? Curiosity, desire to do something new?
– Process. I like concerts maybe more than rehearsals, because there is so much more magic that happens in them. There are conductors who rehearse perfectly, but are uninteresting during a concert. There are those who hardly rehearse, but try to do it in concert focus – suddenly pull a rabbit out of a hat. It also rarely works if you don’t get the job done in a week.
Finding a way to make a week of rehearsal flow into a concert is a brutally difficult task. I’m certainly not saying that I beat her every time – far from it. But sometimes it works. And then I see gratitude in the eyes of listeners and performers.
– The audience is an inevitable part of the magic of the concert?
– The audience is the so-called fourth theatrical wall, but it is not necessary for our inner satisfaction. Sometimes we create that miracle without her, and it’s just nice to share it with the audience.
– What does it mean to be at the top of an orchestra – to control it?
– I don’t know if “control” is a good word here. Sometimes “control” is “letting go”, that’s what I’ve discovered in the last five years. Yes, discipline is necessary, but it must be internalized by every musician.
If everyone feels that discipline and process are well known, then other things happen – freedom and play. And a free person, as is known, spreads better than an oppressed or imprisoned person. This is a very important moment in the conductor’s work.
It may sound pathetic, but it is difficult for me to be sincere, fiery, impulsive and friendly during rehearsals, and to make unpopular decisions during breaks. These are punishments, dismissals, farewells, conflict management. The most difficult thing is to return after such a break as if on wings, inspired.
– In Lithuania, you have probably received all possible awards, there is nowhere else to rise. What are your professional dreams?
– (Laughing) You know, if we measure everything only by awards, a very large number of Lithuanian musicians should almost think about suicide, because someone underestimated something.
I am grateful for every notice of work, but I do not overestimate the rewards.
It so happened that I am at the tip of one of the most important and interesting cultural institutions – the Lithuanian National Philharmonic. As a conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra, it is easier to notice me than another similarly gifted and talented person. In this case, the alignment of the stars is in my favor.
However, awards should not be an impulse or an incentive to achieve something else. If until now I have honestly worked not for the order, but for the inner truth, I will continue to do so.
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2024-09-15 15:22:19
– What inspired Modestas Pitrėnas to transition from choral conducting to symphonic conducting?
Table of Contents
The Maestro’s Journey: An Exclusive Conversation with Modestas Pitrėnas
As the artistic director of the St. Gallen Symphony Orchestra in Switzerland, Modestas Pitrėnas is no stranger to the world of classical music. With a career spanning over three decades, Pitrėnas has established himself as a renowned conductor, known for his passion, energy, and dedication to his craft. In this exclusive conversation, we delve into the maestro’s life, exploring his early beginnings, his journey as a conductor, and his future projects.
From Church to Concert Hall
Pitrėnas’ musical career began in the unlikeliest of places – a church. Growing up in a religious family, he started playing the organ in Vilnius Jurgis Matulaitis church and later went on to lead the choir. This experience not only shaped his musical skills but also instilled in him a sense of spirituality and morality.
“I fell into very good hands of catechesis and ecumenism. That community and good preachers were the cocktail that formed the moral backbone,” Pitrėnas reflects. “You have a foundation, which of course is questioned by inner voices every day, but if the foundation is solid, you have a good chance of staying.”
This strong foundation led him to pursue studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater, where he initially focused on choral conducting. However, it was his further studies abroad that sparked his interest in symphonic conducting.
A Leap of Faith: From Choral to Symphonic Conducting
Pitrėnas’ transition from choral to symphonic conducting was not a deliberate choice, but rather a natural progression. “I was never far from professional music,” he explains. “A conductor cannot be alone, he is absolutely not a soldier in any field. If you manage to gather around you passionate, motivated, enthusiastic, and at the same time friendly people, that juice can grow a lot of fruitful plants.”
His studies in Salzburg and Vilnius helped him develop the skills necessary to succeed in symphonic conducting. Pitrėnas assisted renowned conductor Juozas Domarkas and later went on to win competitions, leading the Kaunas Symphony Orchestra and the Latvian National Opera.
The National Symphony Orchestra: A New Chapter
In 2015, Pitrėnas took the helm as the artistic director of the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra. This appointment marked a new chapter in his career, one that he had never anticipated.
“I didn’t expect any words of encouragement from the professor [Domarkas], but I said one
The helm of the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra. What are the unique challenges faced by conductors when balancing international performances with local engagements?
Conducting Life: A Conversation with Maestro Modestas Pitrėnas
Modestas Pitrėnas, the renowned Lithuanian conductor, is celebrating his anniversary, but he won’t have much time to revel in the festivities. With his demanding schedule, he’ll soon be headed to Switzerland, St. Gallen, where he serves as the artistic director of the city’s symphony orchestra. An opera production awaits him, and he’ll be back in Vilnius soon, standing at
