Legendary singer Stasys Liupkevičius has died – the soul of the ensemble "Armonika"

The news of Stasys Liupkevičius’s death was reported on Friday by the portal lrt.lt.

The sad fact was confirmed by his daughter.

Stasys Liupkevičius was a popular singer of the 8th-9th decades of the last century, a folk music performer, songwriter, arranger, and longtime leader of the “Armonika” ensemble.

Until quite recently, Stasys Liupkevičius told the magazine “Legendos” that every Saturday evening at his and his beloved poet Irena Gildutytė-Navikienė’s home, their favorite show “Sveikinimų koncertas” was turned on on Lithuanian television – almost always featuring songs recorded by Stasys with the “Armonika” ensemble. The ensemble’s repertoire remains so popular that songs are constantly ordered to congratulate a family member, relative, or friend celebrating a jubilee. While listening to the concert, Stasys would also accompany with his voice or at least hum well-known melodies.

The musician, who spent almost his entire life on stage, was convinced that no secret ingredients are needed for a song to become popular. “That’s my character: if I work, I do it with all my heart. Don’t think I’m boastful, but I always liked not just standing calmly on stage singing, but pushing forward ahead of the beat and singing energetically with a spark, looking nicely at the ladies and smiling,” he recalled. “I tried to make the song as good as possible: I found friends who created good arrangements, wrote beautiful music, or nicely arranged the words. I wanted the songs to sound impeccable.”

Stasys, from the town of Šėta near Kėdainiai, grew up with two brothers and a sister. “My father was a blacksmith. But in his heart – a true artist! He loved to play music. Even when forging hot iron, he worked very rhythmically – like a musical instrument. I was still small when he bought a German accordion – so he could play a bit and so I could learn. I started at four years old. He would put me on a chair – it was still hard to hold the accordion, but I still pulled the bellows. Later I learned to play the bayan and accordion, but the gentle accordion music stuck closest to my heart. My brothers could play too, but when I grew up, they started to be cunning: they would take me to dances and make me play the accordion while they danced and tried to pick up girls,” the musician reminisced.

Stasys came to Vilnius to enter the then conservatory – he wanted to become an opera soloist. “You had to pass a big competition: you had to sing, play, and act. Show everything you can,” he recalled to the magazine “Legendos.” His diploma work was the role of Don José in Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen.” “After that, I never saw a more beautiful performance than ‘Carmen’ in my life,” he admitted. He was already in his fifth or sixth year at the Opera and Ballet Theatre, recalled having had beautiful roles, and was even a double for Virgilijus Noreika: “But in my heart, I increasingly suspected I would remain a double because Virgilijus’s star was shining very high even then.” Therefore, when he received an invitation to join the “Armonika” ensemble founded in 1969, the singer did not hesitate long. The ensemble, established on the initiative of then Radio and Television director Jonas Janauitis, was led by composer and conductor Vytautas Juozapaitis.

Music for the ensemble’s songs was created by professional composers – Teisutis Makačinas, Vygandas Telksnys, Eduardas Balsys, Gediminas Gorbulskis. Songs recorded by the collective instantly became hits: “Kur tas kelelis,” “Berniukai,” “Gromatėlę parašiau,” “Ridigdo,” “Ir atskrido sakalėlis,” “Elektrėnų žiburiai,” “Vėjas man pasakė,” “Mėlynakė rasa”… The ensemble gathered professionals – those playing in orchestras, singing in theaters. “You know, young people are active, passionate, want everything. I liked opera, estrada, and folk songs too. I couldn’t choose just one! ‘Armonika’ spread both folk and estrada music. It seemed close to my heart. With the ensemble, we first toured all over Lithuania, then saw the world – we performed in Australia, America.” In 1978, the musician also became the leader of this collective.

Officially married twice, the musician’s both wives have already passed away. With the first, he raised two daughters – Ugnė and Audra. They studied at the M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts and sang well. From a young age, they performed with their father, but eventually did not follow his path at all. Now both are dentists. “They joke that when patients start crying from pain or fear, they sing to them,” Stasys laughed while talking about his daughters to the magazine “Legendos.”

After the death of his second wife, the musician felt completely broken. Only meeting Irena from Kupiškis straightened his shoulders again.

Read the full interview here: Leader of the “Armonika” ensemble Stasys Liupkevičius found personal happiness in Kupiškis: “I saw that he needed saving”

Stasys Liupkevičius