Over the past few decades, percussion music has become one of the fastest-growing areas of contemporary concert music. Composers are increasingly bold in expanding the possibilities of percussion, seeking new timbres, unexpected combinations of instruments, and new performance techniques. Lithuanian percussionists Pavel Giunter and Sigitas Gailius, together with one of Latvia’s most prominent percussionists, Guntars Freibergs, present a program featuring some of the most important works in the contemporary percussion repertoire.
Tomero Yarivo’s “Gyro,” Nebojša Jovan Živković’s “Trio per Uno,” Minoru Miki’s “Marimba Spiritual,” and compositions by Gene Koshinski, John Psathas, and Ney Rosauro reveal different worlds of percussion. In some works, the music is built on pulsating rhythms and precise ensemble coordination; in others, timbre, sonic space, and constantly shifting musical tension take center stage. This program showcases percussion instruments as independent creators of musical narratives, capable of astonishing listeners not only with rhythmic energy but also with a subtle diversity of sound.
Pavel Giunter, Sigitas Gailius, and Guntars Freibergs actively perform as soloists, members of chamber ensembles, and performers of contemporary music, collaborating with orchestras and festivals in Lithuania and abroad. The coming together of musicians from the three Baltic countries in this program offers an opportunity to experience one of the most fascinating trends in today’s percussion repertoire, where virtuosity, ensemble precision, and a constant search for new sonic possibilities merge into a cohesive musical narrative.
