Baroque Contempo is the music idea dedicated to the colorful contemporary sound of Baroque arias. Quartet of young gifted Lithuanian artists – soprano Karolina Glinskaitė, vocalist Silvija Pankūnaitė, pianist Vytis Smolskas and saxophonist Simonas Šipavičius – give their own take on Baroque vocal pieces through creative interpretation and live jazz improvisation.
Baroque Contempo presents a purely original sound – all arias are arranged by Vytis Smolskas, a classically trained turned jazz keyboardist who was the first pianist from Lithuania to perform at the prestigious North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands in 2012. During his jazz improvisation studies at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, Vytis Smolskas learned from such jazz pianists as Jaspers Soffers and Rob van Bavel. A multiple laureate of classical and jazz piano competitions in Europe, Vytis Smolskas is now a jazzman with notable international experience.
Baroque Contempo concert is a skillful and at the same time playful representation of new musical impulses while exploring the links between Baroque and jazz. Why Baroque? The epoch of Baroque in music as well as other art forms is characterized as ornate, elaborate, lavishly textured and expressive. The art of interpretation was born – Baroque composers granted a lot of freedom to a performer in order to convey the musical and emotional message to a listener. Baroque era accentuated the emotional power of music and improvisation was one of the key elements in its expression. Baroque and jazz share the aspect of improvisation – eloquent alteration of melody and rhythm where expected intertwines with surprising, unusual and fresh.
When performing together, Baroque Contempo quartet creates pure, magical atmosphere where two stylistically different harmonies complement each other and result in a charismatic synthesis. Harmony is the Muse of the project. Searching for ways to synchronize the worlds of classical and contemporary music, artists metaphorically invite to seek tolerance, unity and spiritual harmony. Get inspired and let your emotions float along the subtle melodies.
