Bronius Kutavičius

Bronius Kutavičius (13 September 1932 – 29 September 2021) was a Lithuanian composer and academic composition teacher. He wrote numerous oratorios and operas, often inspired by ancient Lithuanian polytheistic beliefs and music. He also composed film scores, orchestral works and chamber music. Kutavičius is regarded as a symbol of Lithuanian cultural identity, both in music and in politics. He studied Western techniques such as random operations, timbre experiments and spatial sound concepts (Zufallsoperationen, Klangfarbenexperimente und Raumklangkonzepte). He worked from 1991 to 1995 on one of his major works, The Gates of Jerusalem, which earned him the Lithuanian State Prize in 1996. He composed his first opera in 2000, Lokys to a libretto by Aušra Marija Sluckaitė-Jurašienė based on the novella by Prosper Mérimée. His music is performed at international festivals, including the Warsaw Autumn, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Mare Balticum, Wratislavia Cantans, Vale of Glamorgan Festival, Spitalfields Festival, MaerzMusik, ISCM World Music Days in Vilnius. Kutavičius died in Vilnius at age 89. Works Although an element of drama appears in compositions by Kutavičius,