The three Budriunas brothers played a central role in the Lithuanian choral tradition in the middle years of the last century. They were born in the small town of Pabirze, near Birzai in northern Lithuania, across the turn of the previous century, Motiejus in 1898, Antanas in 1902 and Bronius in 1909; all three were conductors and composers, but only Antanas remained in his native country, where he taught in Kaunas and Vilnius and died in 1966. Motiejus worked chiefly as an editor and teacher, and in 1944 settled in Germany, where he worked among Lithuanian immigrants and died in 1969; Bronius, primarily a choral director, also went to Germany and then in 1949 to the USA, where he taught and conducted Lithuanian choirs, nurturing traditional music, and died in Los Angeles in 1994.
Their sister Elena Budrainite lived in the house in which they were born until 1979 and after her death half the house was set aside as a museum to the three men. A 19th-century building, it is furnished in the style of the beginning of the century; the exhibits include family photographs and published works by all three composers.
BUDRIUNAS BROTHERS MUSEUM Photo Gallery
Antanas Budriunas spent his working life in Vilnius, as a choral conductor and teacher at the Lithuanian State Conservatory. His study in the house he built for his family, who still live there, is preserved in his memory, exactly as he left it: his own piano is there, his working desk, his armchairs, his records and his library, of both books and music, including much of his own manuscript material.
