Greta Urvelyte

What does music mean to you personally?

Music is simply who I am. I was struggling for a very long time to express my emotions and figure out how I feel, but as soon as I sit down to play a piece everything becomes clear and accurate.

Do you agree that music is all about fantasy?

No. For me music is all about the balance between fantasy and reality: I like to close my eyes and draw a picture with my hands on the keyboard as realistic as possible. The composition that I created called „Joker“ was even a little bit too realistic for me to play because I could vividly see Joker’s bloody lips, twisted smile and a white face... at one point I felt even a bit scared to perform this piece.

If you were not a professional musician, what would you have been?

I love to write and talk with different people so I guess I would be a journalist.

The classical music audience is getting old, are you worried about the future?

I think that classical music is timeless. There will always be a place and time to hear or perform classical masterpieces. Instead of worrying about the things that are out of my control, I am pretty excited to see what comes next and how classical music will evolve in the future.

What do you envision the role of music to be in the 21st century? Do you see that there is a transformation of this role?

I think that music’s evolution is unpredictable. The fact that music is changing so fast means that music and performance art is alive. I see that electronics are playing a huge part in music‘s evolution and more musicians than ever are discovering different tools how to create new sounds.

Do you think that the musician today needs to be more creative? What is the role of creativity in the musical process for you?

I think musicians are trying their best to convey interesting ideas and experiments. Creativity for me is a „flow“ state when you can sit, close your eyes and dream with your hands on the keyboard. This is when the real magic happens.

Do you think we as musicians can do something to attract the younger generation to music concerts? How would you do this?

I believe that younger generation is not a big fan of formalities and conservative approach so live Youtube sessions would be the best way to introduce your art to the younger audience. If you are able to attract a broad audience that way, then live concert would be the next step.

Tell us about your creative process. What is your favorite piece (written by you) and how did you start working on it?

My favorite piece so far would be „Taurus“. It took me more than three months to finish but it was very worth it. The main motives of this piece were composed while my sister and I were simply chilling in our livingroom. The entire process was interesting because the goal was to merge two worlds: electronic and classical music. After that piece, I realised that composition is not only reserved for all the „geniuses“ and „maestro’s“ but just for ordinary people who are willing to expose their hearts and souls to those who care enough to listen.

Can you give some advice for young people who want to discover classical music for themselves?

Do not get discouraged by authorities who are telling you what you should be listening to and what type of music is seen as „valuable“. Instead, listen to everything you like and experiment with different styles.

Do you think about the audience when composing?

I am trying not to unless I am composing for someone in particular, then yes.

What projects are coming up? Do you experiment in your projects?

I always experiment and trying something new. My goal now is to discover my own sound and style. I bet I will just keep swimming.