The Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, led by the artistic director and chief. conductor Gintaras Rinkevičius, announced that he was returning to his home this spring. After almost 2,5 years of reconstruction, on March 16, 17 the orchestra is preparing for a historic event - the most modern and the only LVSO concert hall in Lithuania specially adapted for symphonic music will open its doors. "We can definitely say that this is currently the best concert hall in Lithuania," said G. Rinkevičius. On this special occasion, we talk with the maestro about the new concert hall, its significance in the context of history and the orchestra's future plans.
— Maestro, maybe not everyone knows that the LVSO concert hall is the new name of the former Vilnius congress hall. Why did you decide to change it?
— If we recall the history, in 1984, the construction of a building was started in the center of Vilnius, which was supposed to become the house of political education of the Communist Party. After Lithuania regained its independence, it received the name Vilnius Congress House. in 1999 The Government transferred the right of use of the House of Congress to our orchestra. I am really very grateful to Gedimin Kirkils and the then Minister of Internal Affairs Juoz Bernatonis for understanding our wishes and needs and giving this hall to the symphony orchestra. It was a great gift to Lithuanian culture and a great joy for us, because after ten years of the orchestra's life, we finally had our own hall. However, you can imagine that this building was in no way adapted for concert activities. First time we played a concert at that time in a new and not yet finished hall, which had a stage made of boards and plastic chairs placed on the concrete floor. However, we were very happy with our hall and tried to adapt it as much as possible to play concerts. Since at that time, thank God, the Communist Party no longer existed, the neutral name of the building remained - the Vilnius Congress House, even though not a single congress was held in it during all those years. Now that we have done a very big reconstruction, when the acoustics have changed for the best and, of course, the layout and design of the hall have changed fundamentally, this hall is no longer a congress hall, but a real concert hall of the highest level. Since the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra resides in it, we will call it the LVSO concert hall.
— On the occasion of the opening of the new LVSO concert hall, we want to return to the very beginning. Where did the orchestra rehearse and perform for the first decade of its existence?
— When the orchestra was being created, Algirdas Vileikis, the then chairman of the executive committee of the city of Vilnius, said a winged phrase: "You have cows, but you don't have a barn." That was our beginning. The established Youth Symphony Orchestra became the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra a few years later, but for ten years we did not have our own hall. The worst thing is that we didn't have permanent rehearsal rooms all that time. At first we rehearsed Vilnius University In the great hall of MK Čiurlionios street, later the Ministry of Higher and Special Science, led by Minister Henrikas Zabuliu, transferred to us Žygimantő st. 6 rooms. However, the rehearsal hall there was small, and the premises were constantly in need of maintenance and major repairs. We gave concerts in different places - in the Old Opera House, the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater, very rarely - in the Lithuanian National Philharmonic, and we also went on tours abroad. I am glad that now we have a nice and friendly relationship with the Philharmonic. I am very grateful to the Lithuanian National Philharmonic and its director Rūta Prusevičienė, the Palace of Lords and their director Vydas Dolinskas, that we were able to perform in these halls during the reconstruction of the LVSO concert hall.
— 1999 the orchestra finally got a home - the Vilnius Congress Palace. Can you remember what time it was? How did the settlement work go then?
— The feelings were very fresh and very joyful. In our first concert at the Congress Palace, together with the Latvian choir, we performed "Missa Solemnis" by L. van Beethoven. The hall was not completely finished yet, so we had time to make some improvements to make it a little more suitable for concerts. However, the ceiling of the hall was very low, so at that time we could not significantly change the sound. In more than twenty years, the hall has completely worn out. All the more so because all that time a very intense cultural life took place in the Palace of Congresses - both concert activities and opera productions with Dalia Ibelhauptaite and the "Vilnius City Opera" collective.
— In recent years, the orchestra also faced many challenges. This year, after more than 2,5 years of reconstruction and wandering around other concert halls, the orchestra finally returns to its home. How do you feel this time? What are your emotions as the opening of the hall approaches?
— In fact, the emotions are the best - we can finally play in a real concert hall where the music sounds beautiful. The beauty of the timbres of music should be heard in a symphonic music concert, and in the new concert hall of the LVSO, listeners will definitely be able to experience it. True, the second stage of reconstruction is still waiting for us, which will include the implementation of various energy efficiency measures: the building's external walls, roof will be insulated, windows will be replaced, and the musicians' rehearsal rooms will be fixed.
— The acoustics specially adapted for symphonic music in the LVSO concert hall were created by the Lithuanian company "Akustika Plius", advised by a team of acoustic consultants from Germany, led by prof. skilled Dr. by Wolfgang Ahnert. Why doesn't every hall have a proper symphony orchestra?
— Designing a concert hall starts with acoustics. In order to create acoustics suitable for symphonic music, special materials are used to furnish the hall, which reflect sound well, and with the help of interior elements, sound reflections are formed so that the sound sounds evenly in all parts of the hall and the listeners can hear all groups of instruments harmoniously. Natural and microphone acoustics cannot be compared. Acoustics is a serious science, which is why it pays a lot of money. However, the fact that we have a perfectly reconstructed LVSO concert hall does not mean that Lithuania does not need a National Concert Hall. I want to emphasize that culture and musical culture are a very important part of the state. If we forget this, our nation will simply disappear.
— For the opening concert of the LVSO concert hall, you are preparing the masterpiece of the gold fund of classical music - G. Mahler's Eighth Symphony. The work is impressive both in its scope and thought. Can you tell our readers more about him?
— There are some works which I believe are the works of eternity and which will be the most significant legacy of mankind as long as the world exists. I could say the same about L. van Beethoven's Ninth and G. Mahler's Eighth symphonies, as well as JS Bach's Mass or G. Verdi's "Requiem". Since the opening of a new hall is a huge event for us and, I believe, for the entire Lithuanian musical culture, I decided to choose G. Mahler's Eighth Symphony for this occasion. It is a very large and very beautiful symphony, with deep philosophical ideas. It features a huge symphony orchestra, three choirs and eight soloists. I am convinced that this piece is perfect for such a solemn opening of the LVSO concert hall. March 16 and 17 we will perform it for the third time in the orchestra's history - the first time we played G. Mahler's Eighth Symphony was in 1994. At the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater, when the orchestra was five, for the second time - in 2009. already at the Congress Palace on the occasion of the orchestra's XNUMXth anniversary.
— Are you planning changes in the orchestra's repertoire with the opening of the new concert hall? Maybe you have some unrealized plans or dreams for the future that you can realize in the new space?
— At all times, regardless of the available conditions, we tried to implement ambitious creative ideas, to perform interesting and new works of different genres, periods and directions - from classical to romanticism, modernism and dodecaphony. It is becoming difficult to find a piece that we have not performed yet, but I am confident that we will continue to provide listeners with an interesting repertoire that will sound completely new in the new hall. We will be able to invite more world-class stars to the new hall, so we hope that listeners will be able to have a completely different level of symphonic music experience from now on.
LVSO concert hall opening concert will take place in 2024 March 16 and 17 at 19 p.m. The conductor is Maestro Gintaras Rinkevičius. Tickets are distributed by the box office of the LVSO concert hall and Bilietai.lt. The general sponsor of the orchestra is Embank, the patron is the Cobalt law firm.
