The 21st international music theory conference “Principles of Music Composing” (17–19 November 2021, Vilnius) focuses on the phenomenon of creativity. The topic covers a wide field of research, the new perspectives of which open up only via interdisciplinary inquiries across different areas (arts, psychology, philosophy, socio-cultural sciences, etc.).

The intention of the conference is to consider the already uncovered attributes of creativity (flow by Csikszentmihalyi, fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration by Guilford, creative synthesis by Wundt, creative visualisation, etc.) in the context of compositional practice. In addition, a breakthrough of new concepts and ideas is expected in this area, which is both theoretically and practically unexhausted yet. From this point of view, phenomenal creativity of the famous Lithuanian composer and artist M. K. Čiurlionis (1875–1911) is worth discussing on the 110th anniversary of his death.

Suggested subtopics:


1. The phenomenon of creativity and composing: theoretical, philosophical, psychological, etc. aspects.
2. From the creative process to the result: preconditions, stages, and continuity of the work.
3. Realisation of a musical work as a whole:
   a) from an idea to a detail;
   b) a work as a result of a synthesis;
   c) a work as a combinatorial play;
   d) a work as a set of derivatives for the selected pattern;
   e) a work as transformation of a template into a new quality.
4. Differentiation of creative intentions and their coexistence (novelty, originality vs. continuity of tradition, communication, identity).
5. Specifics of creative work as a medium for creativity (individual work vs. collaboration; acoustic music composition vs. studio/electronic composition; etc.).
6. The role of a performer for the creative process and the end result.
7. Interdisciplinary and inter-sensory interaction (acoustic visualisation vs. visual audialisation; inter-sensory conversion; etc.).
8. Cultural, social, philosophical criteria, prototypes, ideals of creativity (genius – profane; master; visionary; etc.).
9. The phenomenon of M. K. Čiurlionis's creativity: a unique case of interaction between different fields of art.

Paper proposals (abstract and a short biography) should be sent by email: pmc.lmta@gmail.com. The abstract must not exceed 500 words. The duration of full presentation is limited to 20–25 minutes. The main language of the conference is English.

The deadline for proposal submissions is the 1st of September, 2021. Proposals will be reviewed by the members of the scholarly committee and all applicants will be notified of the outcome in the second half of September 2021.

The participation fee is 20 Euros. In case of social restrictions, the conference will be held online. Selected papers of the conference will be published in the annual peer reviewed scientific journal “Principles of Music Composing”.

Scientific committee of the conference:

Prof. dr. Pavel PUŞCAŞ (Music Academy Cluj-Napoca, Romania)
Prof. Miloš Zatkalik (University of Arts in Belgrade, Serbia)
Prof. Roger Redgate (Goldsmiths, University of London, England)
Dr. Bert Van Herck (New England Conservatory of Music, USA)
Dr. Jānis Petraškevičs (Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, Latvia)
Dr. Martin Vishnick (United Kingdom)
Prof. dr. Rimantas Janeliauskas (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre)
Prof. dr. Antanas Kučinskas (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre)
Assoc. prof. dr. Mārtiņš Viļums (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre)
Assoc. prof. dr. Marius Baranauskas (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre)

Organizers: Lithuanian Composers’ Union, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre