Osvaldas Balakauskas, Lithuanian composer of classical music and diplomat, died on April 15, 2026.
He was 88. Balakauskas was born on December 19, 1937, in Miliūnai and graduated from Vilnius Pedagogical University in 1961.
After mandatory service in the Soviet Army from 1961 to 1964, he studied composition with Boris Lyatoshinsky and Myroslav Skoryk at the Kiev Conservatory until 1969. From 1992 to 1994, he served as Lithuania’s ambassador to France, Spain and Portugal, based in Paris. In 1996, he received the Lithuanian National Award.
Osvaldas Balakauskas, 88, Lithuanian composer of classical music and diplomat.