Leona Gustaff

A New Heifetz? The Embassy Showcases Brilliant Lithuanian Talent

Leona Gustaff, now retired, is a former teacher of music and director of choirs in the U.S.

They were only 23 and 25 years of age. Vilhelmas Čepinskis, the violinist, was the younger. But they performed with the aplomb, graciousness, and generosity of much more seasoned musicians. The performance was in the beautiful rooms of the Lithuanian Embassy at 2616 -16th. St., Washington, D.C., whereupon entering, we viewed unique creative paintings of the eminent Lithuanian musician, composer, and artist, Mykolas K. Čiurlionis (1875-1911). The art was borrowed from the Lithuanian museum in Chicago, Illinois.

Guoda Gedvilaitė and Vilhelmas Čepinskis Photo: L. Gustaff

Vilhelmas Čepinskis and Gouda Gedvilaitė, his accompanist on the piano, were invited to appear to an appreciative and mostly Lithuanian audience by Stasys Sakalauskas, Ambassador to the U.S.A. Heralded as a romantic evening, it was much more. Noteworthy selections by Saint-Saens, Rachmaninoff, Prokofieff, Mendelssohn, and Debussy were well prepared and beautifully presented.

 I must confess that as I attended the concert I did not expect to hear music played with such talent and finesse. The first offering, "Sonata" by Saint-Saens, opened with a dramatic explosion of large grand sweeps of the bow on the instrument's strings. I was captivated. True polished technique filtered through and continued to grow until the last encore.

The dramatic interpretation of the concert rhapsody, "Tzigane" by Ravel, was most intriguing. We heard a stirring acappella beginning with piano accompaniment joining in just as one felt the composition would continue for violin only. Neo-classic music with strange harmonies, flowing notes, and rapid trills were played with dynamic intensity. A gypsy dance and tune subtly intruded, and one envisioned gypsies twirling about in heavy laboring steps to rhythmic melodies of folk tunes. The audience rewarded this rendition with a standing ovation and unison clapping.

My favorite was the melodious "Auf Flugeln des Gesanges" composed by Felix Mendelssohn. Meticulous phrasing and lovely tunes played with full marvelous sound entranced me until the last note slowly descended into nothingness.

The interpretation of the immensely popular “Clair de Lune” by Debussy rekindled memories of the beloved master violinist, Jascha Heifetz, who was born in Vilnius in 1901 and presented his first concert in Kaunas when he was six years old. Vilhelmas informed me that the arrangement was by Isidor Achron, accompanist for Jascha Heifetz.

Vilhelmas Čepinskis is the only son of musical parents. His father was a violinist and orchestra conductor in Lithuania, his mother, an opera singer. He began to study the violin at age four and at seven years of age performed with the Kaunas Philharmonic. He played the Wieniausky Second Violin Concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra when he was ten. Vilhelmas was also the recipient of a scholarship to study with the renowned Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard Music School from which he graduated in 1997. In June of that year he made his symphonic debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City, N.Y.

Guoda Gedvilaitė, the accompanist, graduated from the M. K. Čiurlionis College of Arts and entered the Vilnius Music Academy, where she studied with Prof. Veronica Vitaitė. She has performed with major European orchestras and has won international piano competitions. Notably, she received the First Prize at the Nicolai Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Paris. She also captured both the First Prize and the Public Prize at the Chopin International Competition in Hanover, Germany.

What a delight it is to hear such excellent music flow through the rooms of the elegant building of the Lithuanian Embassy again. My mother and my grandparents, who had arrived in Baltimore from Lithuania in 1900, would have approved.

Young and old talent emanating from Lithuania is amazing. These are professional performers who have been welcomed in many countries of Europe and in the U.S.A. They are presenting stellar performances that are exciting and well prepared. We should be proud of this talent from our homeland. Let us invite them back. We must bring our sons, daughters, and friends to hear them. 

Conductor Rostropovich Presented Honorary Citizenship

The Vilnius City Council has presented viola cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich with the title of honorary citizen of the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius on July 27th, 2000.

During the Second World War Rostropovich began his musical career in Moscow. He has been one of the brightest stars on the world music scene for a number of years. He received a number of honors and recordings of his music have won prizes, including the Grammy award and the Grand Pris du Disque.

Rostropovich accepted more than 30 honorary degrees and was honored ceremoniously over 60 times in over 30 different countries for his contributions to art and adherence to humanist principles.

In 1995 Rostropovich was decorated by the president of Lithuania with the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas. Rostropovich's association with Lithuania became much more active after Lithuanian independence. Rostropovich has performed concerts with the Lithuanian National Symphony and National Chamber Orchestras, and the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater.

In 1991, Rostropovich staged a concert with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra in Spain. He donated his proceeds from the event to charity, for the purchase of medicines for victims of [the 1991 Soviet attack of the Lithuanian freedom demonstrators.]

Only three people have received an honorable Vilnius citizenship up till now: former U.S. pres. Ronald Reagan, Icelandic foreign minister Jon Baldwin Hanibalson, and Monsignor Kazimieras Vasiliauskas of the Vilnius Arch-Cathedral.

(Baltic News Service)