Biography
Onutė Narbutaitė (b. 1956) is one of the leading Lithuanian composers. In 1997 she was awarded the Lithuanian National Arts and Culture Prize for the oratorio "Centones meae urbi". The composer was twice awarded the prizes for the best symphonic work of the year (for "Tres Dei Matris Symphoniae" in 2004, and for "La barca" in 2005) at the composers' competitions organized by the Lithuanian Composers' Union. In 2008 she was awarded the prize for the best choral composition (for "Lapides, flores, nomina et sidera") at the same competition. In 2004, her Melody for symphony orchestra (2nd movement from Symphony No.2) was ranked first in the list of recommended works at the 51st International Rostrum of Composers in Paris. Her orchestral piece riva fiume sinfonia (2007), commissioned by the Warsaw Autumn festival and premiered by Sinfonia Varsovia with Christopher Lyndon-Gee conducting, was selected among the top ten recommended works at the 57th International Rostrum of Composers in Lisbon in 2010. She was also honoured with the prize of the Lithuanian Art Creators' Association, the St. Christopher Prize of the Municipality of Vilnius (2008), and other awards.
Onutė Narbutaitė's works are constantly performed at many concerts and festivals in Lithuania and abroad, such as Baltisk Musikfestival (Stockholm, 1991, 1992), Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival (1992), Helsinki Festival (1992), Musikhøst (Odense, 1992), A-DEvantgarde (Munich, 1993), Warszawska Jesień (1994, 1997), Spurensuche (Heidelberg, 1994), De Suite Muziekweek (Amsterdam, 1995), Artgenda (Copenhagen, 1996), Kaustinen XX Chamber Music Week (1998, guest composer), Frau musica nova (Cologne, 1998), Europäisches Musikfest Münsterland (1999, guest composer), Frankfurter Festtage der Musik (Frankfurt an der Oder, 2000, 2004), young.euro.classic (Berlin, 2002), Aboa musica (Turku, 2003, guest composer), MaerzMusik (Berlin, 2003), Icebreaker II: Baltic Voices (Seattle, 2004), Klangspuren (Tyrol, 2004), ISCM World Music Days (Bern, 2004, and Vilnius, 2008), Pan Music Festival (Seoul, 2004, 2005), contemporary music series Musica Viva (Munich, 2005), Synaxis Baltica (the workshop for students of art management, Görlitz, 2006, composer-in-residence), 22 Festival de Música (Alicante, 2006), Harvest Festival (Toronto, 2006), Est-Ovest Festival (Turin, 2006), and other festivals and concerts in many European countries as well as in USA, Canada. Onutė Narbutaitė has got also special commissions from many of the mentioned festivals. Her compositions are included in more than 30 CDs released in Lithuania and abroad, among them 7 CDs entirely of her music.
Onutė Narbutaitė has acquired some fundamentals of composition from Bronius Kutavičius. In 1979 she graduated from the Lithuanian State Conservatory (present Academy of Music and Theatre) where she studied composition with Prof. Julius Juzeliūnas. In 1979-1982 she lectured music theory and history at the faculties of the Lithuanian State Conservatory in Klaipėda, and since 1982 she has been living and working in Vilnius as a freelance composer.
In the 1980s, Onutė Narbutaitė earned the reputation of a composer of subtle chamber music. During the period of independence of Lithuania, Narbutaitė's music underwent significant transformations. First of all, she turned to large-scale symphonic and vocal works (oratorio Centones meae urbi, 1997; Symphony No.2, 2001; Tres Dei Matris Symphoniae, 2003; La barca, 2005; riva fiume sinfonia, 2007). Narbutaitė is developing a very personal music language with characteristic features such as intellectualism and solid structuring, expressive instrumentation and suggestive melodic writing, multilayered vertical stacking and an intense musical flow. Her aural imagery correlates with a great number of cultural reminiscences in her music. The German musicologist Albrecht Thiemann has aptly noted that "the impact generated by Onutė Narbutaitė's works is related with quite uncommon, paradoxical inner balance: their sound is both simple and complex, personal and universal, meditative and analytical."
music export lithuania (
http://www.mic.lt/en/classical/persons/bio/narbutaite