Aleksandra Pister

Dr. Aleksandra Pister is a musicologist (born in Vilnius, Lithuania), and a specialist in the fields of early music (Renaissance and Baroque), musical rhetoric, doctrine of the affections, with particular expertise in music history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, its sources, and soundscapes.

She holds a Master’s degree in early music theory and composition from the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Switzerland. Aleksandra Pister obtained a doctoral degree in Humanities (Art studies / Musicology) from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre for the dissertation titled  “The models of functionality of musical rhetoric and theory of the affects in Johann Kuhnau’s Biblical stories”. She spent two internship periods as a research student at the Institute of Musicology of the University of Leipzig. 

For her outstanding scholarly achievements as a student she was awarded educational scholarships by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania and the Senate of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. She was also granted scholarships by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and the Swiss Government (ESKAS) to pursue studies in Germany and Switzerland. 

The support of the European Union Fund for postdoctoral research allowed her to carry out research at the University of Vilnius, Faculty of History. Her interdisciplinary research focused on music in the service of public relations and cultural diplomacy at the courts of the Grand Duke and the nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. 

She is the leader of the Education Working Group in the international COST action “A new ecosystem of early music studies – EarlyMuse”. Aleksandra Pister also creates radio broadcasts and documentaries dedicated to early music and history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for National Radio Lithuania (LRT) and LRT Klasika. The latter has broadcast over 30 early music programs titled Ars Musica, hosted by the musicologist. 

Aleksandra Pister publishes her research in leading Lithuanian and international academic journals, presents her findings at international conferences across Europe. In her public lectures, she shares her passion for early music and highlights the vibrancy of music heritage today. 

She is a co-editor (with prof .Marco Bizzarini) of the new edition of Marco Scacchi’s book of canons Canones nunnulli (Königsberg, 1649) published by National Museum – Palace of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Vilnius, 2016) and co-author of the collective monograph The Language of Music: Baroque (ed. by Gražina Daunoravičienė, Vilnius: Encyclopedia Press, 2006), which was awarded 1st prize in the Higher Education Textbooks Competition of the Lithuanian Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education.  

Since 2000, Aleksandra Pister has been active as a music critic, writer, and concert presenter.

She was elected vice president of the Students’ Representative Council at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. She held a position at the National Museum ‒ Palace of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania where her responsibilities included organizing cultural events and concerts dedicated to period music and researching the musical heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. She was also appointed specialist in the culture and press department at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Vilnius, in the creative sectors and international culture policy department at the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, and led the Public Relations Unit at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania.

Aleksandra Pister provides expert evaluation for Lithuanian Council for Culture and Media Support Fund Lithuania. Her professional affiliations include membership in the Lithuanian Composers’ Union and in the REMA – European Early Music Network. 

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3101-7984

Interview with Aleksandra Pister 

• „Muzikologo scena. Aleksandra Pister: gali didžiuotis, kai priklausai muzikologų giminei“, by O. Jarmalavičiūtė [Musicologist in the Spotlight. Aleksandra Pister: One Can Take Pride in Being Part of the Musicological Lineage]. In: www.muzikosantena.lt 21 May 2020, also in www.lrytas.lt, 23 May 2020.  

Fellowships and grants

• Research grant from the European Union Fund for postdoctoral research, 2020-2022.
• Scholarships and grants from the Lithuanian Council for Culture: 2024, 2022, 2020, 2015, 2009.  
• Educational scholarship by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, 2009.
• Research stay grant from the Swiss Government (ESKAS), 2007-2008.
• Research stay grant from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), 2005-2006.
• Talent grant from the Senate of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, 2003.

Critical editions

• Marco Scacchi. Canones nonnulli. Ed. Marco Bizzarini, Aleksandra Pister. Nacionalinis muziejus – Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės valdovų rūmai. Vilnius, 2016, 159 p.  

Scholarly articles

• The Sound of Victory: The Triumphant Entry of King Sigismund III Vasa into Vilnius in 1611. In: Sounds of Power, Brill Deutschland GmbH, 2024, pp. 397-416.  
• Printed Music as a Medium of International Representation for the Magnates of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: A Case Study of Music Prints Dedicated to Jan Karol Chodkiewicz and Aleksander Chodkiewicz. In: Lietuvos istorijos studijos, 2022, no 49, pp. 8-29. 
• Muzikinė Jokūbo mirties ir laidotuvių interpretacija Johanno Kuhnau Biblinėje sonatoje [Musical interpretation of Jacob’s Death and Burial in Johann Kuhnau’s Biblical Sonata]. In: SOTER, Kaunas, 2021, No 77 (105), p. 43-59.    
• The dissemination of monastic culture in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the impact thereof on the local musical repertoire in the seventeenth century. In: Musikgeschichte in Mittel- und Osteuropa. Mitteilungen der internationalen Arbeitsgemeinschaft an der Universität Leipzig, Heft 21. Leipzig, 2019, p. 227‒234. 
• Gli enigmi musicali di Marco Scacchi [Musical riddles by Marco Scacchi (with Marco Bizzarini)]. In: Gli enigmi musicali di Marco Scacchi [Musical riddles by Marco Scacchi], Recercare-Associazione Culturale, 2019, p. 103-108.  
• Muzikinė Ezekijo ligos interpretacija Johanno Kuhnau biblinėje sonatoje [Musical interpretation of Hezekiah’s illness in Johann Kuhnau’s Biblical sonata]. In: Menotyra, Vilnius, 2019, Vol. 26, No. 3, p. 129-143.  
• Marko Skakio dedikacijos Lietuvos ir Lenkijos Valdovui Jonui Kazimierui Vazai: rinkinio „Canones nonnulli“ muzikiniai ypatumai [Marco Scacchi’s dedications to John II Casimir Vasa, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania: musical features of the collection Canones nonnulli]. In: Lietuva – Italija: šimtmečių ryšiai. Vilnius, 2017, p. 547‒557. 
• Zigmanto Vazos triumfo pašlovinimas unitų giesmėmis: muzikinė struktūra ir notacijos ypatybės [Uniate chants glorifying Sigismund Vasa’s triumph: musical structure and characteristics of notation]. In: Triumfo diena. 1611 m. birželio 13 d. Smolensko pergalė ir iškilmingas Zigmanto Vazos sutikimas Vilniuje 1611 m. liepos 24 d. Vilnius, 2011, p. 86‒89.  
• Prie muzikos retorikos ištakų: keli grigališkosios monodijos pavyzdžiai [Back to the origins of musical rhetoric: some examples from the Gregorian chant]. In: Menotyra, 2011, T. 18, Nr. 3, p. 187‒195.  
• Muzikinė Sauliaus ligos interpretacija Johanno Kuhnau biblinėje sonatoje [Musical interpretation of Saul’s sickness in Johann Kuhnau’s Biblical sonata]. In: SOTER, Kaunas, 2011. Nr. 37, p. 77‒93. 
• Braunsbergo vargonų tabulatūra: intavoliacijos fenomenas XVII a. rankraštyje [The Braunsberg Organ Tablature: The Intabulation Phenomenon in the 17th-Century Manuscript]. In: Lietuvos muzikologija, IX tomas. Vilnius, 2008, p. 6‒41.  
• Die Braunsberger Orgeltabulatur: Eine Sammelhandschrift aus dem Preussen des 17. Jahrhunderts [The Braunsberg Organ Tablature: A 17th-century Collection of Music from Prussia]. In: Musik-Sammlungen – Speicher interkulturellen Prozesse. Hrsg. Erik Fischer. Stuttgart, 2007, p. 207‒223.
• Muzikos retorikos tradicija Johanno Kuhnau „Biblinėse istorijose“: kompozicinė praktika (II dalis) [The Tradition of Musical Rhetoric in Johann Kuhnau’s Biblical Stories: Compositional Practice (Part II)]. In: Lietuvos muzikologija, VII tomas. Vilnius, 2006, p. 20‒41.  
• Muzikos retorikos tradicija Johanno Kuhnau „Biblinėse istorijose“: teorinis konceptas (I dalis) [The Tradition of Musical Rhetoric in Johann Kuhnau’s Biblical Stories: Theoretical Concept (Part I)]. In: Lietuvos muzikologija, VI tomas. Vilnius, 2005, p. 6‒33.  

Articles in collective monographs

• Baroko muzikos retorikos teorija ir praktika (su Judita Žukiene). [Theory and Practice of Baroque Musical Rhetoric (with Judita Žukienė)] In: Muzikos kalba: barokas. Sud. Gražina Daunoravičienė. [The Language of Music: Baroque. Ed. by Gražina Daunoravičienė]. Vilnius: Enciklopedija, 2006, p. 84‒126. 

Conference papers  

• Early Music in Lithuana. REMA conference. Vilnius, Lithuania, 14 March 2025.   
• Kas pamiršta – vėl jauna. Senoji muzika Lietuvoje [Once Ancient, Now Young Again ‒  Early Music in Lithuania]. Educational Conference at the National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, Vilnius, Lithuania, 25 November 2023.
• Tiny Fragments of a Huge Celebration: Uniate Psalms from 17th-Century Vilnius. Lost & Found: Traces of Early Music. An International Colloquium on Fragmentology. Cascais, Portugalija, 19-22 July 2023. 
• Collections of printed music by Italian composers as a medium of international representation for the magnates of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. MedRen, International Medieval and Renaissance Conference. Uppsala, Sweden, 4-7 July 2022.
• Too Many Texts and Contexts? A Case Study of Biblical Sonatas by Johann Kuhnau. Performing by the Book? Artist-Researchers’ Negotiations Between Text and Act. Orpheus institute, Ghent, Belgium, 7–8 June 2022.
• Muzika viešosios diplomatijos tarnyboje: J. K. Chodkevičiui ir jo aplinkai dedikuoti muzikos leidiniai.[ Music in the Service of Diplomacy: Collections of Printed Music Dedicated to Jonas Karolis Chodkievičius and His Circle]. Jonas Karolis Chodkevičius and His Era through the Lens of Auxiliary Historical Sciences. Lithuanian Institute of History, Vilnius, Lithuania 15 October 2021.
• Music in the Service of Public Diplomacy: Giovanni Valentini and His Activity in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. REMA International Conference. Lyon-Ambérieu, France, 30 September – 2 October 2021.
• The Abundance of Choices: Editing Music from Braunsberg Organ Tablature. The Music Repertoire of the Society of Jesus in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1565–1773). Sources – Editing – Cataloguing. Warsaw, University of Warsaw, 5–6 February 2016. 
• Musical Life in 17th-century Vilnius during the Reign of Vasa. 44th International Conference of Baltic Musicologists “Urban Musical Life in North European Common Cultural Space”. Tallinn, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, 5–7 February 2015. 
• Marko Skakio dedikacijos Lietuvos ir Lenkijos valdovui Jonui Kazimierui Vazai: rinkinio „Canones nonnulli“ muzikiniai ypatumai. [Marco Scacchi’s Dedications to John II Casimir Vasa, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania: Musical Features of the Collection Canones nonnulli]. Lithuania – Italy: Centuries of Relations. Vilnius, National Museum ‒ Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, 14–16 May 2014.
• Die Braunsberger Orgeltabulatur: Eine Sammelhandschrift aus dem Preussen des 17. Jahrhunderts [The Braunsberg Organ Tablature: A 17th-century Collection of Music from Prussia]. Interkulturelles Forschungsprojekt „Deutsche Musikkultur im östlichen Europa”. Intercultural research project “German Music Culture in Eastern Europe”, University of Bonn, Germany, 1 October – 8 September 2005. 

Radio programs

• Radio documentary about Constance of Habsburg „Tu sužeidei mano širdį“ [You have wounded my heart], LRT Radijas, 2025.
• „Ars musica“, LRT Klasika, 2024-2025.

Public lectures

• Šokis – ne liga? Chorėja ir kiti Braunsbergo vargonų tabulatūros šokiai. [Dance – Not a Disease? Chorea and Other Dances from the Braunsberg Organ Tablature]. National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, 13 March 2024.
• The Women and Music of Early Modern Lithuania. Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, 20 March 2024.
• Kas pamiršta – vėl jauna. Senoji muzika Lietuvoje. [Once Ancient, Now Young Again: Early Music in Lithuania]. National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. International Marco Scacchi Early Music Festival, 23 March 2023.
• LDK magnatų gyvenimo aktualijos: ką praneša XVII a. Italijos muzikos leidiniai? [The Daily Life of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy Magnates: What Do 17th-Century Italian Music Publications Tell Us?]. National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, 12 November 2022.
• What Music Did the Vasa Royals Listen to in Lithuania? Stockholm Early Music Festival, 3 June 2022.
• Italų opera Lietuvos didžiųjų kunigaikščių rūmuose [Italian Opera at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania]. “Polifonija” Concert Hall, Šiauliai, 23 November 2019.
• Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės kompozitorių gyvenimo ir muzikos mįslės. Marco Scacchi ir jo kanonų knyga. [The Riddles of Life and Music of the Composers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: Marco Scacchi and His Book of Canons]. National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, 18 March 2015.
• G. F. Händelio oratorija “Prisikėlimas“ ir Romos muzikos mecenatų varžytuvės. [G. F. Handel’s Oratorio La Resurrezione and the Rivalry among Roman Patrons of Music]. National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, 14 March 2014. 

Concert and CD reviews, interviews

• „Muzika yra gyva istorija“ – teigia naujieji festivalio „Banchetto musicale“ rengėjai. In: Žurnalas „Moteris“, 2025-09. pp. 41-44.   
• LNB vadovė Aušrinė Žilinskienė: literatūra skatina susimąstyti, pasėja abejonę, suteikia drąsos veikti ir pakelia minias nuo sofų. In: Lrytas.lt, 15min.lt, lrt.lt 2025-02-19. 
• Muzika, šokiai ir kiti kerai. In: 7md.lt, Nr. 32 (1524), 2024-10-11.
• Nuo pamokslo iki flirto. Kretingos senosios muzikos festivalį uždarė mišios Vazų ir Habsburgų vedybinėms sąjungoms. In: 7md.lt, Nr. 28 (1520), 2024-09-13.
• Atsitinka nebūtų dalykų. Pirmą kartą surengta senosios muzikos edukacijos konferencija. In: 7md.lt,  2023-22-08.  
• Atsargiai! Meistriškumo kursai. Pokalbis su jaunaisiais senosios muzikos profesionalais. In: 7md.lt, 2023-11-24. 
• „Muzika ir komunikacija: ką praneša Italijos kompozitorių leidiniai apie Chodkevičių šlovę“.  In: Naujienos.vu.lt, 2022-10-28. 
• „Muzikos ar Chodkevičių šlovei? Italijos kompozitorių dedikuoti leidiniai“. In: Bernardinai.lt, 2022-10-22.
• „Edukacinis Šventosios Cecilijos festivalis augina išlavinto skonio kartą“. In: Lietuvos rytas, 2020-11-20. 
• „Jei nori dirbti su vaikais – būti geru muziku negana“. Pokalbis su edukatore B. Baltrušaityte-Urmilevičiene. In: www.bernardinai.lt 2019-12-27.
• „Festivalyje „Midsummer Vilnius“ pasirodę breikdanso čempionai „išraitė“ net ir Bacho fugą“. In: www.15min.lt 2019-07-25.  
• „Lietuvos valdovų muzikinis skonis – Marco Scacchi festivalyje“. In: www.15min.lt 2019-03-07. 
• „Plikas ir įsiutęs. Lietuviška Antonio Vivaldi operos „Orlando furioso“ premjera“. In: 7 meno dienos. 2019-01-04. 
• „Muzikos ir kosmoso orbitos asteroidas. Vilniaus universiteto Didžiajame kieme liepos 22-ąją lietuvių klausytojai pirmąkart mėgavosi reto balso prancūzų kontratenoro Philippe’o Jaroussky dainavimu“. In: Lietuvos rytas, 2018-07-24.
• „Per sekundę – 3 natos. 22-asis tarptautinis Vilniaus festivalis užvakar Nacionalinėje filharmonijoje atidarytas neįprastai ir efektingai – su pompastiška barokine prabanga.“ In: Lietuvos rytas, 2018-06-05.
• „Vien malonumai. Baroko operos teatras pristatė G. F. Händelio operą „Semelė“. 7 meno dienos, 2017-02-03. 
• „Dieve, sergėk Karalienę. Festivalyje „Banchetto musicale“ skambėjo muzika trims Anglijos valdovėms“. In: 7 meno dienos, 2016-09-30. 
• „Patirti istoriją. „Canto fiorito“ atliko Johanno Valentino Mederio „Pasijas pagal Matą“. In: 7 meno dienos, 2016-04-15.  
• „(Ne)žinoma Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės muzika“. In: 7 meno dienos, 2015-03-24.  
• „Vilniuje R. Egarras suteiks naujų atspalvių J. S. Bacho muzikai“. In: Lietuvos rytas, 2014-06-14. 

Updated on November 10, 2025