On 16-17 June, Apnea, a new piece by composer Justė Janulytė that was born during the pandemic, inspired by the composer’s thoughts on what breathing means to us, was performed for the first time in Würzburg and Munich. The world premiere brought to audiences by the Munich Chamber Orchestra continued the cultural season in Bavaria organised by the Lithuanian Culture Institute, which began with a concert by the conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in March, attracting a lot of public and media attention.

The concert that took place on 16 June in the Imperial (or Kaiser) Hall of the UNESCO-listed Würzburg Palace was part of the Mozart Festival, which celebrated its centenary this year. The second time Apnea was performed at the Prinzregententheater in Munich. Both concerts were held with a live audience and were broadcast on Bavarian Radio on 28 July. Justė Janulytė was commissioned to write this piece by the musica femina münchen, a foundation for the initiation and dissemination of works by women composers.

According to Janulytė, the work Apnea (from Latin, cessation of breathing) was inspired by experiences related to diving, ecstatic states, and expansion of the physical capabilities of the diver that have long fascinated her. “All that is particularly relevant today as we are rediscovering the importance of breathing and the tension of time during the pandemic,” shared the composer. During the performance, the string orchestra experienced a 15-minute “immersion” in the music without pauses, embarking on an odyssey of existential experiences alongside the listeners.

After the first rehearsal, Clemens Schuldt, the chief conductor of the Munich Chamber Orchestra, expressed his admiration for the Lithuanian composer’s piece: “This music has a powerful, almost hypnotic effect that pulls a listener in! The work emerges from silence and returns to silence, and between these moments, there are waves: first small, then huge, first rippling, and later foaming! I am particularly fascinated by the fact that the composer has chosen only one group of instruments, which means that she has perfected her work with minimal means and achieved an incredibly associative result. For me, Apnea creates an impression as if the sound was coming from the space itself, as if I was by the dark, roaring sea,” said the conductor.

Janulytė took part in the rehearsals of the Munich Chamber Orchestra and attended the world premiere of her work in Würzburg and Munich. The organisers of the concert paid special attention to securing a safe environment for the performers and audiences: before each meeting, all musicians and conductors, as well as the composer, took a COVID-19 test. All listeners were required to take a test or have a vaccination certificate.

Along with the world premiere of Janulytė’s work, the concerts featured music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The project Without Distance: Lithuanian Culture in Bavaria 2021 (in German: Ohne Distanz: Litauische Kultur in Bayern 2021) will be continued in the summer and autumn by live, online or hybrid events. A varied programme of music, literature, visual arts, performances and theatre by the most prominent Lithuanian artists and performers will be presented and artists residencies will be held within the cultural season.

The project is organised by the Lithuanian Culture Institute and the Lithuanian Cultural Attaché in Germany in cooperation with the Lithuanian Embassy in Germany and partners in Lithuania and Bavaria. The project is funded by the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture.