French Clarinet School Reception and Impact on Contemporary Wind Instrument Culture in Lithuania


Doctoral student: Vytautas Giedraitis
Supervisors: Prof. Algirdas Budrys, Prof. Dr. Rūta Stanevičiūtė-Kelmickienė
Department: Winds and Percussion
Intended duration: 2013–2017

Abstract

Vytautas Giedraitis

Vytautas Giedraitis

The contemporary culture of wind instruments is a striking example of intercultural exchange and interaction of national schools. In the second half of the 20th century, the Lithuanian clarinet school reached a turning point caused by the spread of French system instruments in Lithuania and the impact of the French musical culture on the rejuvenation of the national tradition of wind instruments (until then, German system instruments and performance traditions dominated in Lithuania). This project will look into the unique and specific nature of the French clarinet school and analyse the spread of the French tradition and its impact on the formation of the Lithuanian clarinet school in the second half of the 20th century.

The programme of the creative part of the artistic project makes it possible to take an in-depth look and sum up the beginnings and achievements of the contemporary Lithuanian wind instrument culture as well as the main technical and stylistic features of the French school which had the strongest impact on the national culture. Based on the artistic research, the creative part of the project consists of performances of contemporary (20th–21st centuries) solo, clarinet and orchestra as well as chamber ensemble and clarinet compositions by French and Lithuanian composers.