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, musical heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, early music manuscripts, and historically informed performance practice. 

She holds a Master’s degree in musicology from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and a Master’s degree in early music theory and composition from the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Switzerland. 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. 

Aleksandra Pister obtained a doctoral degree in Humanities (Art studies / Musicology) from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre where she defended the dissertation “The models of functionality of musical rhetoric and theory of the affects in Johann Kuhnau’s Biblical stories”. She currently pursues academic work as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Vilnius, Faculty of History. Her interdisciplinary research focuses 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.

Aleksandra Pister was elected vice president of the Students’ Representative Council at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and appointed host of radio broadcasts for the “Klasika” programme by the Lithuanian National Radio and Television. 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 and in the creative sectors and international culture policy department at the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania.

Since 2000, she has been active as a music critic, writer, lecturer and concert presenter. She has served as a music expert for the Lithuanian Council for Culture. Her professional affiliations include membership in the Lithuanian Composer’ Union and in the REMA – European Early Music Network (on behalf of the University of Vilnius). She is founder of „Dr. Pister Artist & Project Management” that represents and promotes period music artists and projects.

Aleksandra Pister is a co-editor (with 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.  

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 profession]. In: www.muzikosantena.lt 2020-05-21, also in www.lrytas.lt, 2020-05-23 

Fellowships and Grants

•    Research grant from the European Union Found for postdoctoral research, 2020-2022.
•    Publication subvention from the Lithuanian Council for Culture, 2020. 
•    Publication subvention from the Lithuanian Council for Culture, 2015.
•    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

•    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  

•    The Abundance of Choices: Editing Music from Braunsberg Organ Tablature. International conference “The Music Repertoire of the Society of Jesus in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1565–1773). Sources – Editing – Cataloguing”. Warsaw, University of Warsaw, 5‒6/02/2016. 
•    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, 5‒7/02/2015. 
•    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]. International conference “Lithuania – Italy: Centuries of Relations”,  Vilnius, National Museum ‒ Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, 14–16/05/2014.
•    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”. Bona, Bonos universitetas, Vokietija. / Intercultural research project “German Music Culture in Eastern Europe”, University of Bonn, Germany, 1/10-8/09/2005. 

Recent concert reviews, interviews, CD reviews

•    „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.