The Ambivalence of Lithuanian Themes in Vytautas Bacevičius’s (1905–1970) Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 12 (1929)

Abstract

This article analyses Vytautas Bacevičius’s (1905–1970) Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 12 (1929), composed in Paris during the second stage of his creative career, the so-called ‘period of individual style crystallization’. The study seeks to reveal the impact of the École de Paris environment, as well as the composer’s own experience as a pianist, on his creative work. Although the concerto incorporates three Lithuanian folk songs, their treatment is inconsistent: the melodies appear as stylised quotations in the spirit of ‘anti-sentimentalism’, which makes it difficult to regard them as an attempt to create national music. The analysis shows that here the use of folklore functions rather as a means of stylisation within the discourse of early twentieth-century European modernism. Furthermore, the architectural structure of the work reveals connections with Franz Liszt’s (1811–1886) Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major (1830–1853), reflecting Bacevičius’s pianistic background.