Vykintas Baltakas
Lithuanian composer and conductor. He began the study of composition and conducting at the Vilnius Music Academy (Vytautas Barkauskas, Lionginas Abarius). He continued the study of composition with Wolfgang Rihm and conducting with Andreas Weiss in Karlsruhe in 1993–1997. Subsequently he extended his education at the Conservatoire Supérieur in Paris, IRCAM and the International Eötvös Institute. Baltakas is a regular guest at various festivals and collaborates with ensembles all over Europe. He has conducted highly-reputed orchestras, including Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and ensembles including Ensemble Modern, Scharoun Ensemble, London Sinfonietta and Klangforum Wien. He has undertaken collaboration with the conductors Karlheinz Stockhausen, Georg Friedrich Haas and Dieter Schnebel. In 2009 he founded Lithuanian Ensemble Network (LEN), which he also leads. He has received awards for his works: International Claudio Abbado Composition Prize (2003), Siemens Advancement Award (2007) etc. In 2014 his wind quintet Redditio 2 was premiered in London.