BACK TO NATURE Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla (Extended Version) | Deutsche Grammophon

Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla’s album Back to Nature celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of Lithuanian composer, painter and poet Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. The album combines music, nature and mythology in a fascinating artistic vision. 

The release sees the acclaimed Lithuanian conductor leading the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France respectively in two major Čiurlionis symphonic poems — Jūra (The Sea) and Miške (In the Forest). 

Then Mirga brings to the album two further piano pieces by the composer, Ruduo (Autumn) and Lakštingala (The Nightingale), performed by her sister Onutė Gražinytė. Further, Romualdas Gražinis, her father, directs the AIDIJA Chamber Choir and the Upper School Choir of the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art in his own new choral work Sutartinė, rooted in traditional Lithuanian polyphony.   

In so doing, Mirga allows the album to unite generations of artists, including a family of musicians, in a shared exploration of nature and cultural heritage. 

The album is released digitally and on vinyl. A new extended album version is available digitally.