1889 – 1893

Čiurlionis lived in Plungė, learning to play various instruments at the orchestral school on M. Oginski’s estate and singing in a choir. He started composing music, and in his spare time liked drawing. From 1892, as a flutist with the orchestra, he received not only his keep but also a salary. With the orchestra he played concerts in Palanga, Riga and Rietavas.

1894 – 1899

With financial support from M. Oginski, Čiurlionis studied at the Warsaw Institute of Music. Having enrolled in the piano class, he began his studies under Professor T. Brezicki and in 1895 moved up to Anton Sygietinski’s class. He also studied composition under Zygmunt Noskowski.

His best friend at the Institute was his colleague Eugeniusz Morawski. Čiurlionis was a frequent guest at his friend’s home, where he met and fell in love with Eugeniusz’s sister Maria. But, their romance did not lead to marriage. Maria’s father, having noticed their feelings, took haste to marry off his daughter to another suitor.

In addition to his main subject, Čiurlionis also studied harmony, the theory and history of music, the natural sciences, astronomy, philosophy, numismatics and mineralogy, and attended a choir class. His favourite authors were Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Słowacki, Bolesław Prus, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Friedrich Nietzsche and Leo Tolstoy. In Warsaw, he composed canons, fugues, preludes, variation cycles for piano and a string quartet. He earned a diploma in composition. His graduation work was a cantata for mixed choir and symphony orchestra De Profundis.

Summer 1899

He stayed in Druskininkai, drawing and teaching his siblings music.

Autumn 1899 – spring 1901

Čiurlionis lived in Warsaw giving private lessons in order to support himself and his brother Povilas who has entered the Institute of Music. He rejected an offer to take the position of the conductor of the Lublin Music Society’s choir and orchestra.

1900

Čiurlionis composed Polonaise for wind orchestra. His first publication – the Nocturne in F-sharp minor in Meloman (No. 8).

October 1900 – April 1901

Čiurlionis composed the symphonic poem In the Forest and dedicated it to his friend E. Morawski. With this composition he participated in a competition funded by Count Zamoyski and won a special mention from the jury.

1901 – 1902

Čiurlionis studied composition under Professor Carl Reinecke and counterpoint under Salomon Jadassohn at the Leipzig Conservatoire. As an external student he attended lectures in aesthetics, history and psychology. He listened to his favourite compositions by Handel, Tchaikovsky, Wagner and Liszt at the Gewandhaus and Leipzig Theatre. He studied independently orchestration of Berlioz and R. Strauss compositions at the library of C.F. Peters’ publishing house.

During his Leipzig period, he composed the symphonic overture Kęstutis, a string quartet in four movements, canons and fugues including Sanctus and Kyrie for mixed choir. During his vacations he did some drawing.

14 July 1902

Čiurlionis earned teacher qualification from Leipzig Conservatoire.

Written by Nijolė Adomavičienė

Translated by Sonata Zubovienė

Rietavas Oginski Cultural History Museum

Rietavas Oginski Cultural History Museum

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