Antanas JASENKA | Concerto No. 2 for piano and string orchestra (2026)

Antanas Jasenka / concerto for piano and string orchestra "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation" (2026) Eglė Kasteckaitė (piano) St Christopher Chamber Orchestra, artistic director and conductor Modestas Barkauskas. Recorded at St. Catherine's Church, Vilnius, Lithuania, on August 20, 2026. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ENG From the press release: “I spent a long time thinking about a sound that doesn’t merely ring out, but lingers. About a vibration that doesn’t vanish after the initial strike but begins to lead a life of its own—in space, in the air, within the human being. Perhaps that is where the title of this work came from: ‘Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.’ It wasn’t the physical formula itself that drew me in, but the idea hidden within it: one light awakens another. A single impulse triggers a chain reaction that becomes unstoppable. While composing this piano concerto, I wasn’t thinking about a virtuosic conflict between soloist and orchestra. It was more important to me to create a sensitive space of resonance where sounds transform, excite, and take over from one another. Here, the piano strikes me as a very fragile entity—sometimes solitary, sometimes dissolving into the orchestral soundscape, sometimes barely audibly trying to hold onto a light that is on the verge of fading out. In this music, the notes themselves aren't the only thing that matters. What happens after them is just as important: the reverberation, the fading of vibrations, the anticipation, the silence. Sometimes it seems that only when a sound has almost vanished does it begin to speak in its true sense. Perhaps that is why the piece moves slowly. Not to achieve tranquility, but because sound needs time to become light. As I wrote, I felt the music constantly balancing between emergence and disappearance.” "Some sounds seem to awaken others, and the entire form emerges not from a pre-planned dramatic structure, but from the logic of internal resonance. I am interested in the moment when the listener stops 'following the music' and simply begins to exist within it. For me, this concert is about the fragile emergence of energy. About a silence that is not emptiness. About a light that intensifies because something has touched it," says composer Antanas Jasenka. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LT Pranešime spaudai: „Aš ilgai galvojau apie garsą, kuris ne tiek skamba, kiek pasilieka. Apie virpesį, kuris po smūgio neišnyksta, o ima gyventi savo gyvenimą – erdvėje, ore, žmogaus viduje. Galbūt iš čia ir atsirado šio kūrinio pavadinimas – „Šviesos stiprinimas stimuliuojant spinduliavimo emisiją“. Mane patraukė ne pati fizikinė formulė, o joje slypinti mintis: viena šviesa pažadina kitą šviesą. Vienas impulsas sukelia grandinę, kurios jau nebeįmanoma sustabdyti. Rašydamas šį koncertą fortepijonui galvojau ne apie virtuozinį konfliktą tarp solisto ir orkestro. Man buvo svarbiau sukurti jautrią rezonanso erdvę, kurioje garsai vieni kitus keičia, sužadina, perima. Fortepijonas čia man atrodo kaip labai trapus kūnas – kartais vienišas, kartais ištirpstantis orkestro garsyne, kartais vos girdimai bandantis išlaikyti šviesą, kuri tuoj užges. Šioje muzikoje man svarbios ne tik natos. Ne mažiau svarbu tai, kas vyksta po jų: aidėjimas, virpesių nykimas, laukimas, tyla. Kartais atrodo, kad tik tuomet, kai garsas beveik išnyksta, jis pradeda kalbėti tikrąja prasme. Gal todėl kūrinys juda lėtai. Ne todėl, kad siektų ramybės, o todėl, kad garsui reikia laiko tapti šviesa. Rašydamas jutau, kad muzika nuolat balansuoja tarp atsiradimo ir išnykimo. Vieni garsai tarsi prikelia kitus, o visa forma gimsta ne iš iš anksto suplanuotos dramaturgijos, bet iš vidinio rezonanso logikos. Mane domina akimirka, kai klausytojas nustoja „sekti muziką“ ir pradeda tiesiog būti jos viduje. Šis koncertas man yra apie trapų energijos atsiradimą. Apie tylą, kuri nėra tuštuma. Apie šviesą, kuri stiprėja todėl, kad kažkas ją palietė“, - sako kompozitorius Antanas Jasenka. -----------