Hans Otte’s The Book of Sounds is a twelve-part piano cycle of minimalist music that invites listeners to fill its pages with their own reflections and emotional experiences. The German composer encourages the performer to “experience oneself through sound, merging with time, space, and the surrounding world,” while asking the audience to become “partners of sound and silence, seeking their inner world and a sense of oneness with sound.”

The work was born from Otte’s deep immersion in Eastern aesthetics, Zen Buddhism, and meditation practices. His spiritual journey culminated in this powerful musical experience, which, as the composer described, encourages us to understand the world as a sonic experience and opens the door to a completely new way of perceiving the sounds around us.

Pianist Gabija Natalevičienė, a laureate of international competitions in Lithuania, the UK, Denmark, and Greece, explores the sacred dimension of piano music through her doctoral studies in the arts. Her encounter with this unique genre led her to seek new colours and unconventional formats in her performances. In recent years, her repertoire has increasingly featured contemporary composers.

Inspired by the works of Arvo Pärt, John Cage, and Hans Otte, and their ideas, Natalevičienė invites audiences to view the act of piano performance from a different perspective—as a form of inner experience and meditation. This will be the unique opportunity awaiting listeners of the Pažaislis Music Festival on June 12, in the sacred atmosphere of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kaunas.