Osvaldas Balakauskas Courses

Oswald Balakauskas (1937 - 2021) was a Lithuanian composer of contemporary classical music. He was born in Klaipėda, and later in 1960, he studied composition at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. He wrote a large body of works in various idioms that included chamber music, vocal music, choral pieces, orchestral works, and numerous piano, instrument, and electro-acoustic works. He produced two operas, two ballet scores and two symphonies as well. His works draw upon elements of modernist and postmodernist cultures, such as avant-garde and experimental music, folk music of Lithuania, and other nations, and other genres such as film and theatre music, pop music and jazz. Balakauskas is credited with bringing contemporary classical music to the forefront of Lithuanian culture. In 1986, he was awarded the Herder Prize by the Vienna Academy of Arts and Sciences in recognition of his extensive and diverse creative output. Balakauskas’s compositions often explore themes of Lithuanian identity and culture, while his unique and innovative approach to music has earned him a place among the greatest Lithuanian composers ever. In 2000, Balakauskas was named a People’s Artist of Lithuania, and in July, 2019, he won the Lithuanian Gaida Award for musical achievement. Balakauskas also served as a professor of composition at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. He passed away in 2021 at the age of 84.