openARTed

In this conversation, I had the pleasure of speaking with my high school mate, flautist Beata Preisaitė-Šidiškienė. Our discussion revolved around the complexity of musical careers, emphasizing the importance of recognizing their non-linear nature. We delved into our early experiences as forming musicians, highlighting the significance of nurturing expansive dreams in both music-making and career development.

Beata pursued her musical education at prestigious institutions such as the Saarbrucken Academy of Music in Germany, the Faculty of Music at the University of California, Fullerton in the USA, as well as the Royal Danish Academy of Music, where she earned her master's degree. As a soloist, Beata has performed with the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra, the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, the Southern California Philharmonic Orchestra and the University of California Fullerton Orchestra. The flutist has also played in the Danish National Radio Orchestra, the Copenhagen Philharmonic and other orchestras.

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• Youtube channel PianoBuffs (NEW) 
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Episode music - Rosehip "Bloom". Big thanks to my good friend, inspiring music creator Rosehip, who provided music for this episode. 
Carl Reinecke - Flute Sonata Undine, Op. 167 (Performed by B. Preisaitė-Šidiškienė and Galya Kolarova)

Dawn Bennett has authored over 300 publications including Understanding the Classical Music Profession in 2008. One of her main research areas was classical music including musicians' identities, their employability, and the career thinking of postgraduate classical music performance students. We talked about success, challenges and cultural pressures in this field. Her free Employ-Ability toolkit can be accessed here.  
 

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• Youtube channel PianoBuffs (NEW) 

Episode music - L. van Beethoven - Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op.70 No.2, I mvt. | M. Lozinskienė, Nadia Kalmykova (Violin) and Loukia Loulaki (Cello)

Pianist and Head of Keyboard at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Aaron Shorr speaks about finding novelty in classical music, musician's routine, his way of working at the Conservatoire and the purpose of being a musician. 

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• Youtube channel PianoBuffs (NEW) 

Episode music - L. van Beethoven - Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op.70 No.2, I mvt. | M. Lozinskienė, Nadia Kalmykova (Violin) and Loukia Loulaki (Cello)
 

Ugnė is a doctoral student and she is investigating the role of emotional intelligence for musicians at the Royal College of Music. The aim of her research is to investigate  a musicians’ EI profile and how it impacts their professional life.  If you are a professional musician, please consider filling this survey and helping Ugnė to collect as much data as possible.

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• www.monikapianiste.com/
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• Youtube channel PianoBuffs (NEW)

Graduating from the music conservatoire, preparing for your professional career, musical exellence vs. relevant skills, the reason behind making arts. All these topics and more in the conversation with Sean Gregory a Vice-Principal & Director of Innovation and Engagement at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. 

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• Youtube channel PianoBuffs (NEW)

Episode music - M. Ravel "Ondine" performed by M.Lozinskienė

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Andrew Simonet, a choreographer and writer who shared his insights and experiences on making a life as an artist. We also discussed the importance of cultivating a strong work ethic, building a supportive community, and taking risks in pursuit of one's artistic goals.

Andrew reflects on the unique challenges faced by artists, including financial instability, self-doubt, and the pressure to constantly innovate and create. He offers practical advice on how to navigate these challenges, emphasizing the importance of staying focused on one's vision, staying connected to one's values, and finding joy in the creative process itself.

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Andrew's website - https://www.andrewsimonet.com/


Music - L. van Beethoven - Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op.70 No.2, II mvt. | M. Lozinskienė, Nadia Kalmykova and Loukia Loulaki; M. Ravel - Gaspard de la Nuit, No. 1, "Ondine" | Monika Lozinskienė

In this conversation we uncover different professional roles and how swaping between those roles can be challenging. Also I was interested to know Jurgita's unbiased opinion about the classical music industry. She shared a lot of valuable insights about artistic life and how archetypes play an important role in it.

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  Connect with Jurgita

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jurgitagaukste/

https://samoningalyderyste.lt/blogas/

https://www.facebook.com/JurgitaGaukste

Music - M. Ravel - Gaspard de la Nuit, No. 1, "Ondine" | Monika Lozinskienė

Bernhard Schimpelsberger is an Austrian composer and percussionist. He studied Indian classical rhythms with masters such as Suresh Talwalkar and Trilok Gurtu. Bernhard says "Rhythm is a universal language that allows us to connect on deeper levels." Join us for this more than incredible talk with some beautiful excerpts of Bernhard playing the percussion.

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MEREDIAN | Melodic World Percussion | Bernhard Schimpelsberger
Rhythm Diaries - Rhythms of fractals and collective movement - Bernhard Schimpelsberger

The Guru Utsav Solo (Full Concert) ・Bernhard Schimpelsberger

Intro music - M. Ravel - Gaspard de la Nuit, No. 1, "Ondine" | Monika Lozinskienė

A very homey conversation with my dear friend, pianist and roommate Kamilė Zaveckaitė. At the moment we both live and study music in Vienna. We talk about our very private feelings as jealousy, comparison and how do we feel in the classical music industry. Kamilė has listened to all of my episodes and we discuss ideas from the previous episodes. Join us! With an exception of my and Kamile's performance of Lutoslawski's  Variations on a Theme by Paganini for Two Pianos, you will hear music performed by Ukrainian musicians. 

This is a homage to all Ukrainian people, who have been suffering since Russia's invasion. Make Art not War.

1. Intro: Dmytro Gnativ - Ukrainian composer's Vitaly Hubarenko concerto for flute
2. Mariia Kurhuzova - Ligeti Etude No. 4 "Fanfares"
3. Outro: Dmytro Choni - J. Brahms  Rhapsody, op.79
   
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If someone would ask me to describe this episode, I would say two words - beauty of thought and gratefulness.  On the last day of 2021, I am sharing this spiritual, but also very down to earth conversation with soprano from Barcelona  Serena Sáenz. Serena is among those remarkable people who I have been lucky to meet while living and studying in Barcelona. Little did we know that in 5 years since then, Serena will be singing with the world famous conductors including Daniel Barenboim and that during her first season as a member of the Staatsoper Berlin International Opera Studio, Serena will be asked to jump in as Pamina for the opening night of Yuval Sharon’s production of Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute). I am so thrilled to be able to bring you this conversation which, I believe, is the best fit to positively end this year and gracefully start the new year. Enjoy and Happy New Year!

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About Serena Sáenz

Serena's IG
About the spiritual practice Serena mentioned.

Episode music - M. Ravel - "Ondine" performed by M.Lozinskienė

Lucia di Lammermoor’s, Mad scene “Il dolce suono” performed by Serena Sáenz and pianist Ricardo Estrada

A conversation with musicians' performance psychologist Noa Kageyama. Noa is a founder of Bulletproof musician platform where you can find a lot of interesting material about practice hacks and mental skills to help you reach your highest level of performance. He is currently working at the Julliard School in New York and I am so happy that I had a chance to talk with Noa and to find out how to improve my piano practice and to literally save time and become a better performer. Join us and find out about certain skills to become a more effective learner. 

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Noa - Bulletproof musician 

Episode music - M. Ravel - "Ondine" performed by M.Lozinskienė

A discussion from Kaunas Piano Fest 2021, a piano festival in Lithuania which I host yearly since 2018. My guest - Neringa Valuntonytė is a Lithuanian pianist who gathers audiences throughout Europe with a big variety of solo and chamber music repertoire. Always searching for different performance ideas, Neringa is currently running a doctorate research at Lithuanian academy of music and theatre on the topic of creating academic musician's persona: from stage to personal brand. 

We will discuss: - why Neringa decided to investigate this topic - the issues we see regarding our career visions as classical musician and how we could improve them - how classical music industry has changed and what it means for a performing musician - building your brand - contemporary academic culture - old vs new career strategies in music.

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More about Neringa 

Episode music - M. Debussy - "La fille aux cheveux de lin" performed by N. Valuntonytė

A discussion curated by Kaunas Piano Fest and led by festival director Monika Mašanauskaitė and Tomas Gumauskas. My guest - Tomas Gumauskas | a co-founder of Youtube channel "Serija F" about financial literacy for youth. 

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Topics touched:

• - Can I invest without having a stable income?
• - Should young artists have discount on a performing hall?
• - How do you stay authentic in the unauthentic environment?
• - How does a musician charge his work hourly?
• - Can I invest without having a stable income?
• - Branding is the most important thing towards a success
• - You pay not only for the product but for the appearance of the personality
• - Bild an emergency fund

Episode music - M. Ravel - "Ondine" performed by M.Lozinskienė

A discussion curated by Kaunas Piano Fest and led by me and Rūta Sudakovienė.  Rūta holds a Master's degree in sports psychology and now she actively coaches athletes, dancers as well as figure skaters. Rūta runs an Instagram profile where she educates about sports psychology including tips to reaching your performance peak. 

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We discussed:

• - Analogy between an athlete and a performing musician
• - What challenges performing musician faces
• - Hard work vs good resting schedule
• - Healthy daily routine
• - Self confidence (inner and outer)
• - How to build self confidence
• - Pressure regarding performance

Episode music - M. Ravel - "Ondine" performed by M.Lozinskienė

On my 21st episode  I invited  my stage partner, pianist from Poland, currently living in London, Anna Szalucka. In the beginning of June, 2021 we were running a project in Modern museum in Lithuania where we performed S. Reich's piece "Piano phase" for two pianos. We called this project INSTALLATION "Piano phase" and on purpose hosted it in the museum  so  the listeners would have freedom to choose how long they want to listen to the music and if they want to listen to it at all. We performed 9 time during 5 days. We say with Anna that this project has changed us as artists and also gave us creative freedom which we have never experienced before. The piece "Piano phase" inspired us to have deep conversations about our vision, goals and needs as musicians. So on this last episode  for this season  you will hear all our ideas, concerns and experiences which occurred  during INSTALLATION "Piano phase" 

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Anna Szalucka

Photo credit - Mindaugas Mikulėnas

Episode music -  C. Debussy - Étude No. 11 "Pour les Arpèges Composés" performed by M.Lozinskienė

In this conversation I talked with Laurynas - a CO-founder of Urban Vilnius city dance theatre "Low air". More than 40% of the theatre's performances are shown abroad. The company has represented Lithuanian dance culture at various international festivals and culture fairs such as Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Internationale “tanzmesse nrw”, Dance International Glasgow and etc. Laurynas holds several Golden Stage Awards for his theatrical performances as a dancer. His attitude towards dance is far away from simple. His artistic activities include education, community, visual art, music, sociology and pedagogy. Laurynas thinks that talent is simply hard work and that the real secret of success is an ability to see opportunities. 

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LOW AIR 

Instagram 

Episode music - 

C. Debussy - Étude No. 11 "Pour les Arpèges Composés" performed by M.Lozinskienė

I. Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring. Part I The Augurs of Spring - S. Poška and  A. Szałucka

Michelle is a musician based in the Netherlands where she performs, runs concert series, teaches and coaches at the The Fearless Artist Mastermind. During the Covid-19 she came up with a challenge #killingperfectionisminclassical which helped many musicians reduce their inner critic and start treating our playing  from a different angle. We talked about social media, finding your people, being fearless and how to make yourself available so people can hire you. Join us for this uplifting conversation on openARTed. 

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Michelle's book list for further readings -

• In Pursuit of Excellence
• Mastering the art of performance 
• Everything is figureoutable 

Episode music: J. Brahms - Intermezzo Op. 117 no. 1 performed by @Michelle Lynne

 

Kamile Marmaite is a professionally trained naturopathic nutrition specialist. She helps people to battle fatigue, tiredness, low energy levels and more serious symptoms by explaining healthy daily life habits that can make us feel better. Did you know that what you eat can directly influence your motivation and moods? As for musicians, we rarely realize that our body is our instrument and if we want it to perform at the highest level, we have to take care of it. I am sure that the topic of productivity and energy was not only on my mind, so in this episode with Kamile you will discover a lot of valuable information about maximizing your energy levels and most importantly - how to do what you love without overstretching your body and mind. I dedicate this episode to all my musician friends.

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If you would like to know more how Kamile can support your health & wellbeing book a FREE 30-min Health Review Call to discuss your health challenges and concerning symptoms. There are still some slots available this month! Book it here - https://kmnutritionaltherapy.as.me/

Follow Kamile on Instagram - @kmnutritionaltherapy

Key words:

Cruciferous veggies

Legumes

Barbara Oakley, author of the chapter I read in the intro - https://barbaraoakley.com/about-me/

Episode music - C. Debussy - Étude No. 11 "Pour les Arpèges Composés" performed by M.Lozinskienė

Avo Kouyoumdjian is currently my piano professor at the MDW - University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna where I study Chamber music masters. Born in Beirut, Lebanon to a family of Armenian descent Avo began his studies when he was 12 years old at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Since then he founded International Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition and in 2002 he became the cofounder/ director of the Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Institute. If I know a musician/teacher whose eyes light up as he hears Beethoven, Ravel or any other composer - Avo is one of them. There is no way you can leave his teaching room without being inspired. Gladly, you can also hear this fire in his voice, almost like experiencing his piano lesson. So grab your headphones for this conversation and undiscovered music by A. Babadjanian performed by Avo and his friends.

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Episode music:

A. Babadjanian - Impromptu, "Exprompt" (A. Kouyoumdjian - piano)

Piano Trio in F-Sharp Minor - III. Allegro vivace, I. Largo - Allegro espressivo - Maestoso

Ani Kavafian (Violin), Suren Bagratuni (Cello), Avo Kouyoumdjian (Piano)

Akvilė Kavaliauskaitė is a Lithuanian writer and journalist. In 2015 she published her first book "Two Lives In One Summer" and in 2020 her second book - collection of short stories "Bodies". I turned to Akvilė hoping to get some remedies or secrets about easing the writing process and dealing with lack of inspiration or motivation as a creator. Interestingly, according to Akvilė,  if you want to be a writer, no one will help you and nothing will help you. Intrigued? Join us for this talk to find out how Akvilė got her first writing job, how she approaches writing, money and career, and why in Akvilė's first book the main character is a pianist.

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Akvilė's novels to read 

More about Akvilė - @akavaliauskaite

Episode music - C. Debussy - Étude No. 11 "Pour les Arpèges Composés" performed by M.Lozinskienė

C. Debussy - Piano Trio in G major, 2nd mov. performed by Trio Agora