Muzikos leidėjo ir prekybininko Augusto Antpusaičio gyvenimo rekonstrukcija ir veiklos reikšmė JAV lietuvių bendruomenei

LTStraipsnyje pirmą kartą siekiama rekonstruoti ir apibendrinti muzikos leidėjo ir prekybininko, vargonininko ir instrumentų meistro Augusto Antpusaičio (1886–1972) gyvenimą ir veiklą. 1906 m. išvykęs į Jungtines Amerikos Valstijas ir apsistojęs Brukline Antpusaitis tapo vienu pirmųjų lietuvių muzikos prekybininkų ir leidėjų. Jo išleisti lietuviški ritinėliai pianolai yra tarp pirmųjų tokio tipo lietuviškų įrašų. Iš viso žinomi dvidešimt penki 1920–1926 m. išleisti Antpusaičio ritinėliai pianolai. Jie atspindi ne tik lietuviškos profesionaliosios muzikos formavimąsi, bet ir svarbiausius besikuriančios Lietuvos valstybės įvykius (nacionalinės valiutos įvedimą, diplomatinių santykių su JAV užmezgimą, Vilniaus krašto okupaciją). Greta leidybinės veiklos, Antpusaitis pasižymėjo ir kaip instrumentų meistras. Profesionaliai įvaldęs fortepijonų derinimą, jis taip pat gamino vargonus, fortepijonus ir ksilofonus. Mažiausiai žinoma jo kaip bažnyčios vargonininko veikla. Nors kelis dešimtmečius vargonavo Bruklino Šv. Jono lietuvių evangelikų liuteronų bažnyčioje, apie šią veiklą archyvinių dokumentų ar amžininkų liudijimų nepavyko rasti. Daroma išvada, kad Antpusaičio veikla yra reikšmingas lietuvių muzikos istorijos reiškinys, charaketringai atspindintis to meto muzikos leidėjo ir prekybininko situaciją. Antpusaičio muzikos reikmenų parduotuvė Brukline, veikusi 1919–1930 m., turėjo didelę įtaką lietuviškos muzikos sklaidai ir tautinio identiteto išsaugojimui Jungtinėse Amerikos Valstijose. Straipsnyje taikomi šaltiniotyros, istoriografinis ir menotyrinis tyrimų metodai. Reikšminiai žodžiai: ritinėliai pianolai, lietuviška muzika, muzikos leidyba, emigracija, Amerikos lietuviai. [Iš leidinio]

ENThe article aims to recover the life of Augustas Antpusaitis (1886–1972) and to evaluate his creative legacy for the first time. Antpusaitis was a music publisher, businessman, church organist, and manufacturer of musical instruments who lived and worked in Brooklyn, NY, from 1906. He ran a music shop on Grand Street, later on Broadway, in Brooklyn, from 1919 to 1929 and became the first Lithuanian to publish piano rolls. Antpusaitis published 25 piano rolls between 1920 and 1926. Lithuanian folk dances and songs as well as the music of Lithuanian composers Antanas Vanagaitis, Vincas Kudirka, Juozas Naujalis were recorded. Their music reflected the most important events of Lithuania: the establishment of diplomatic relations between Lithuania and the US (1922); the establishment of a national currency, the litas (1922); and the dramatic occupation of Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, by Poland (1920). Though Antpusaitis ran his own label of piano rolls, it was manufactured by the Connorized company, which provided such a service for many local publishers. Later, Antpusaitis sold his ownership rights to this company, so the same Lithuanian tunes were published by Connorized and from 1926 by QRS, which bought other companies at that time. Antpusaitis’s music shop in Brooklyn was an important place for the Lithuanian community, where Lithuanians could find musical instruments as well as discover the latest cultural events and speak in their native language. After a visit of European producers of pianos and player pianos, Antpusaitis became a strong dealer for European companies in Brooklyn and could suggest a cheaper price for his customers. It helped Antpusaitis to stay in a market longer than others. But the Great Depression pushed Antpusaitis to change his life, and he decided to invest into Lithuania. He bought a part of Kataučizna Manor (Kudirkos Naumiestis) around 1926.Unfortunately, it was lost during the Soviet occupation in 1940. Then Antpusaitis bought a farm in Kerhonkson, NY, and spent the rest of his life renting summer houses for New Yorkers there. Antpusaitis served as an organist at St. John Lithuanian Evangelic Lutheran Church in Brooklyn for several decades (until 1940). Tuning and the ongoing repair of an organ were included in the duties of an organist. It became a strong motivation for Antpusaitis to start crafting portable organs himself – we know he built a few organs and pianos. One piano he made in 1940 for his daughter Ruth as a wedding present. Antpusaitis was married to Anna Pimat (Ona Pimaitytė). They had four daughters: Ruth Strimas, Ella, Esther, and Mildred. Though all of daughters were taught to play piano, none of them became musicians. Only Ruth, who studied piano with a graduate of New York University pianist George Nobiletti, gave her own piano lectures for a short time. Antpusaitis’s life represents the typical situation of the generation of Lithuanians who moved to the USA before WWI, including musicians and music businessmen. Efforts to preserve the native language and culture, to run their own business, and to feel free were possible only in the USA. In time, when Antpusaitis moved to the USA, Lithuania as a country did not exist and there were total restrictions for Lithuanians living under the Russian Empire. Though the movement for Lithuanian independence started in the last decade of nineteenth century, it was more progressive and active in the US. Antpusaitis was a small part of all these events, but his activity in music industry played an important role in Lithuanian music history. Keywords: piano rolls, Lithuanian music, music publishing, emigration, American Lithuanians. [From the publication]

• Muzikologija / Musicology
• Menotyra / Arts