Musicatlas
Music
Life
Balys Dvarionas was born on June 19, 1904 in Liepaja, where one of the largest Lithuanian communities in Latvia formed in the beginning of the 20th century. Like his brothers and sisters, he was taught music from his very childhood: the violin, organ and piano. He completed a middle school of commerce, played organ at a church, for several years headed a Lithuanian choir and tasted the life of a silent movie pianist. He had a wonderful music teacher - the well-known Latvian composer Alfred Kalninš, who advised him to study composition under Jaseps Vitolis at the Riga Conservatory. However, in 1920, B. Dvarionas went to Leipzig. There he studied piano under Robert Teichmüller at the Conservatory and attended special music theory and composition courses held by Stephan Krohl and Sigfried Karg-Elert. He graduated the Conservatory in 1924, and afterwards spent two years studying piano in Berlin under Egon Petri.
Balys Dvarionas was a synthesis of talents in piano, teaching, conducting and composing. The bloomed almost all at once and B. Dvarionas soon became one of the most famous personalities in Lithuanian music. From 1924 on he performed throughout Lithuania, and in 1928 he began to perform abroad. In 1926 he began teaching at the Music School (later at the Conservatory) and from 1949 the end of his life he taught at the Music Academy in Vilnius. Over 50 pianists graduated Prof. B. Dvarionas’ class. He started his conducting activities in 1928, working with the Music School Orchestra. In 1931 he conducted a concert for the first time at the Philharmonic (the soloist was Egon Petri). In 1934 he went to Salzburg to attend conductors’ courses led by Bruno Walter and his assistant Herbert von Karajan, and in 1939 he graduated Conducting classes he took as an external student under Herman Abendroth at the Leipzig Conservatory. From 1935 to 1938 he was the Kaunas Radiophone Orchestra Conductor. In 1939 he arrived at the newly - regained (territory, the city of) Vilnius and together with architect Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis established the Vilnius City Orchestra, where he worked at as head conductor, as well as at the later - established Philharmonic Orchestra. The last time B. Dvarionas appeared on stage, May 12, 1972 with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra at the Philharmonic Hall, he played Mozart’s Concerto and conducted Schubert’s Mass. He was tormented by a harsh illness and died in August 23, 1972.
His first attempt at composing was for the play Varnal