The Baltic Way

The Baltic Way - also known as the Baltic Chain - was a demonstration in 1989 by citizens in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania calling for independence from the Soviet Union. On 23 August 1989, around two million participants formed a human chain six hundred kilometres long, stretching from the Estonian capital Tallinn via Riga in Latvia to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. The longest human chain ever created proved to be the final step leading to the long-awaited independence. This historic event served as a source of inspiration for the composition. The introduction to the first movement, "Struggle for Independence", is based on a nocturne for piano by the well-known Lithuanian composer and painter Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875-1911), whose thematic material is used throughout the composition. The melancholy opening is followed by a rousing theme that reflects the determination of the Baltic population. The sudden aggressive, dissonant chords and a dominant and rhythmically contrary movement in the bass drum announce that the resistance is not going smoothly. For a brief moment, the anthem of the Soviet Union is heard in the low brass, but this is relentlessly pushed into the background by the rest of the orchestra, which plays the Lithuanian national anthem "Tautiška giesmė" ("Lithuania, our homeland"). The second movement, "Decades of Suffering", reflects life under the yoke of the Soviet Union. A peaceful protest was planned for the quest for independence, in which a human chain was formed through the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. This "Chain of Freedom" is described in the last movement of the work.