The works of New York-based Lithuanian composer Žibuoklė Martinaitytė, winner of the 2022 Lithuanian National Prize in Arts and Culture and the 2020 Guggenheim Fellowship, have been lauded as as “breathtaking… profoundly moving” by the San Francisco Classical Voice, while The Wire praises her for “complex structures of perception and rich textures of experience.” Her stimulating music bristles with energy and tension and revolves often around the subject of beauty, which she calls both a guiding principle and an aesthetic measure for sonic quality.
Described as a textural magician, Martinaitytė has a growing reputation for her orchestral music. CD Saudade, released by Ondine in 2021, received wide critical acclaim: it was on NPR’s Top 10 Classical Albums of 2021: “This album makes the case for Martinaitytė as one of today’s most distinctive orchestral composers.” In 2022 the New York Philharmonic Orchestra gave the US premiere of the title piece from this album.
Martinaitytė's choral album LETHEIA released in 2024 was reviewed by the New York Times and Gramophone and became one of NPR’s Best 10 Classical Albums of 2024.
Martinaitytė’s CD In Search of Lost Beauty, released on Starkland in 2019, received two gold medals at the Global Music Awards for Best Composer and Best Album. In 2020, she was granted the prestigious Lithuanian Government Award for her creative achievements and in 2022 a medal of honor from the President of Lithuania. In 2024, Martinaitytė was a recipient of the Goddard Lieberson Fellowship by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.