January 25th at the LVSO Concert Hall a concert will be organized by the charismatic piano virtuoso Alexander Paley together with his own chamber ensemble "Paleasis". This is the debut of the ensemble concert in Vilnius, which the ensemble has been waiting for for more than two years. For the special concert, "Paleasis" has prepared three exceptional opuses, including the premiere of a work by Loreta Narvilaitė written especially for the ensemble. We talk about everything in turn with "Paleasis" artistic director A. Paley.
— Aleksandra, more than two and a half years have passed since the founding of the ensemble “Paleasis”, but only this year, on January 25, the debut concert of the ensemble will take place. concert in VilniusWhy did this happen?
— First of all, “Paleasis” is an ensemble with a very special composition. I don’t know anything like this ensemble – it’s not an orchestra, not a trio, not a quartet… The ensemble consists of twelve performers – thanks to this we can play a huge repertoire. Two and a half years ago, our debut took place at the Pažaislis Music Festival, in the large hall of the Kaunas State Philharmonic. For this, I am grateful to the curator of the Pažaislis Festival, Lina Krėpštaitė, who has supported us from the very first days. We play not only large-scale works, but also smaller ones – for three, four, five, six instruments. You can’t imagine what a wide repertoire we have created during those two and a half years of the ensemble’s existence! All the musicians who play in “Paleasis” also work somewhere else – I really appreciate that they find time for our ensemble’s rehearsals in addition to that. We have already managed to play concerts in many places in Lithuania and abroad – in large and small halls, at good music festivals. My goal was for us to understand each other better and better - during that time we became a true team.
We were in no hurry with our debut in Vilnius, because this is Vilnius. The LVSO Concert Hall was built before my eyes – I was invited to see the finished hall even before it opened. Believe me, in my life I have played in the largest halls all over the world. There is nothing like the LVSO Concert Hall in Lithuania – it meets the highest European and world standards, which is why I am very happy. While participating in the opening of the LVSO Concert Hall, my eyes were full of tears – I know how complicated the process was, how much the leader of the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra Stasys Pancekauskas and maestro Gintaras Rinkevičius had to do to build this hall. I was waiting for the LVSO Concert Hall to open. From the moment it opened, I understood: the center of Lithuanian musical life has moved here. It is a great honor for us to play our debut concert in Vilnius, namely in the LVSO Concert Hall. I want to thank S. Pancekauskas and maestro G. Rinkevičius - they helped a lot to make this concert happen - I will never forget it. I know that organizing everything is not so easy, but I asked, and they did it.
— Could you tell us what the audience can expect at this concert?
— The concert will feature three major works. First, we will play the Sextet by Hungarian composer Ernst von Dohnányi – an absolutely wonderful, yet rarely performed work – a masterpiece from the first to the last note. At the end, Franz Schubert’s “Trout Quintet” will be performed – one of the cornerstones and most beautiful chamber music pieces ever written. The centerpiece of the concert will be the world premiere of Loreta Narvilaitė’s piece “Footsteps, Sand, Wind – There You Have Been”, written especially for our ensemble. In 2024, we released our first disc “There You Have Been”. It features music by Lithuanian composers – two fantastic works by Onutė Narbutaitė and a composition by Loreta Narvilaitė, which we will also perform at the concert on January 25. I know L. Narvilaitė very well, I have been playing her music all my life, but this is a completely different L. Narvilaitė than what listeners are used to hearing.
— How important is chamber music to you? Why did you want to start a chamber ensemble?
— Since I moved to the West, I have been playing as a soloist all my life, and I really feel great being alone with a good symphony orchestra and conductor. (smiles). But chamber music is my passion, in which I am still learning. All my festivals – in France, in America – are focused on chamber music. Establishing a chamber music ensemble was my dream – I wanted to bring together musicians who would breathe together. I have been living in Lithuania for a little over three years now, and I am grateful for everything. I have done everything I wanted, and I know that it would not be possible to create such an ensemble anywhere else in the world. This is very important to me. As a soloist, I perform in various countries around the world, but when I return to Vilnius, I feel at home – who would have thought! I have always loved Lithuania, I have played here a lot, but since I settled here, I feel something else in my heart. I am a very happy person: the people around me are wonderful, I have great friends, wonderful students, and I can play with musicians I love.
— There are 12 musicians in your ensemble. Do you find common ground easily?
— I will give you this comparison: there is a family that loves each other, but sometimes there are arguments in it – and that is normal. If it helps to create a better concept and ultimately – a better performance, then great! Of course, we are all very different – in experience, age, views, and that is good. I understand chamber music very simply. Do you know what ikebana is? It is the Japanese art of arranging flowers so that they are in harmony with each other. It is the same with chamber music: it should reveal the best qualities of each, being in harmony with the other. This is not so easy to achieve. It is easier to say: “I will do this now, so you have to do this – then it will be good.” But this is not chamber music. Therefore, chamber music needs time – you have to live with it, be together, play in rehearsals. Music is a living body.
The debut concert of the ensemble "Paleasis" in Vilnius will take place on January 2025, 25 at 19 p.m. in the concert hall of the Lithuanian State Opera and Ballet. Tickets are distributed by the box office of the Lithuanian State Opera and Ballet and Bilietai.lt. The general sponsor of the orchestra is "Embank", the patron is the law firm "Cobalt".
