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    With this double album I introduce myself as a performer of contemporary classical music, which, I believe, might come as a surprise for listeners who are familiar only with my work in the fields of improvised music and avant-garde jazz. However, various genres of music as diverse as classical and jazz, free improvisation and contemporary classical were always there along the way, playing a significant role in shaping my approach to musical performance as an improviser and a musician in general – an approach that blurs distinctions not only between different genres but also between improvised and composed music, improvisation and interpretation.

    In addition to leading my own bands and working on my own projects, I consider myself very lucky to have had many fortunate opportunities to appear as a soloist and a section member with major symphony and chamber orchestras, both locally and further afield, as well as to collaborate with fantastic chamber ensembles and creative improv and jazz bands, which have notably included the Gaida Ensemble and the Lithuanian Ensemble Network, the Chordos and Čiurlionis string quartets, the Copenhagen Art Ensemble, the Barry Guy Ensemble, the Andrew Hill Jazzpar Octet, the Marc Ducret Ensemble for Lady M, the New Jungle Orchestra, the Konvoj Art Ensemble featuring Evan Parker and Sten Sandell, Vladimir Tarasov and the Lithuanian Art Orchestra, and the Improdimensija Orchestra. Some of these wonderful orchestras and musicians continue to keep me company in live concerts and on these two discs.

    Over the years I’ve also had a chance to work with many talented composers who have written fascinating music specifically for me or who would ingeniously adapt to my abilities and inclinations as an improviser by giving me the freedom of self-expression in their otherwise strictly written compositions. Out of several dozen such works I have selected ten compositions by eight (mostly Lithuanian) composers and wrapped it all up under a title adopted from one of my all-time favourite Lithuanian concert pieces for solo saxophone, Polylogue by Osvaldas Balakauskas. All of the pieces were recorded – some live, some in the studio – over a period of fifteen years, from 2005 to 2020, which retraces a substantial chapter in my professional career as an improvising multi-reed player and composer.

    CD 1 opens with the title track and features contemporary Lithuanian music for solo saxophone and orchestra. CD 2 sets off with the track Social, which marks the beginning of my ‘socializing’ with the Chordos Quartet. All works for solo saxophone and string quartet committed to this disc have been recorded with the same constellation of musicians (except for the closing piece where percussionist Arkady Gotesman and accordionist Raimondas Sviackevičius joined us), which may be called a band as we’ve been playing music by different composers and experimenting with my own music involving a lot of improvisation based on graphic scores and other alternative forms of notation for almost two decades now. I have also seized the opportunity to pay homage to my first clarinet teacher, the brilliant musician Algirdas Doveika, by including my take on a solo clarinet piece by Vykintas Baltakas, which Algirdas used to play beautifully himself.

    Wishing you lots of exciting musical discoveries!

    Liudas Mockūnas
    January 13, 2021, Kernavė, Lithuania

    Includes unlimited streaming of Liudas Mockūnas "Polylogues" (2xCD) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.     ... more
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  • Full Digital Discography

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about

ANATOLIJUS ŠENDEROVAS (1945–2019)
EXODUS
for clarinet, soprano saxophone, accordion, percussion and string quartet (2004)

For this work I drew inspiration from the second book of the Torah, part of the Hebrew Bible, entitled Shemot (literally, “the names [of]”) or The Book of Exodus (derived from an Ancient Greek word and its Romanized version, meaning “way out”), which tells the story of a long journey from slavery to salvation… Various unconventional tunings of string instruments, unorthodox means of sound production and elements of instrumental theatre are employed here to enhance the atmosphere of sacredness conveyed in this music.

Anatolijus Šenderovas

I think Anatolijus Šenderovas was one of the greatest composer-storytellers coming from the Baltic region. I don’t know a single work of his without a deep narrative behind the music. Exodus is not an exception. The story taken from the Hebrew Bible creates a powerful link to Anatolijus’s composition. Each time I play this piece I experience something close to an emotional catharsis. I’ll just mention the last section of the piece where I play a five-minute meditative clarinet improvisation atop a mesmerizing soundscape created by accordion and strings and flavoured with little bells, chimes and gongs. For me, the vibe in this section encapsulates much of Lithuania’s archaic folk music, the spirituality of late John Coltrane and the pan-ethnic rituals of Don Cherry. What a piece to end the journey through this album!

Liudas Mockūnas

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from Liudas Mock​ū​nas "Polylogues" (2xCD), released March 21, 2021
ANATOLIJUS ŠENDEROVAS (1945–2019)
EXODUS for clarinet, soprano saxophone, accordion, percussion and string quartet (2004)

Liudas Mockūnas (soprano saxophone, B-flat clarinet), Raimondas Sviackevičius (accordion), Arkady Gotesman (percussion), Chordos String Quartet: Ieva Sipaitytė Mindaugas Bačkus (cello and voice)

Recorded in 2006 at the spa in Druskininkai by Anatolijus Šenderovas

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Liudas Mockūnas Vilnius, Lithuania

Lithuanian saxophonist and clarnetist (born 1976)focused on improvised, avantgarde jazz, experimental and conteporary classical music. Among his stage partenrs were and are Andrew Hill, Copenhagen Art Ensemble, Mikko Innanen, Stefan Pasborg, Barry Guy, Agusti Fernandez, Marc Ducret, Mats Gustafsson, Evan Parker, Peter Evans, Nate Wooley, Ottomo Yoshihide, Kazutoky Umezu, Vladimir Tarasov ... more

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