LITHUANIAN NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
(artistic director and principal conductor Modestas Pitrėnas)
RAFAŁ BLECHACZ (piano, Poland)
Conductor ROBERTAS ŠERVENIKAS
STANISŁAW MONIUSZKO – Fantastic overture Bajka (The Fairy Tale)
MYROSLAV SKORYK – Diptych for string orchestra
AMILCARE PONCHIELLI – Introduction to the opera I Lituani (The Lithuanians), Op. 7
FRYDERYK CHOPIN – Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 2, in F minor, Op. 21
The Presidency of the Council of the EU plays a key role in ensuring stability in European affairs. By principle of rotation, the chairing Member State gets to be at the centre of political attention for six months.
Poland takes over the Presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 January 2025. We will mark this significant event with a concert featuring Polish piano star Rafał Blechacz. His rise to fame was paved by winning the 15th International Chopin Piano Competition in 2005.
The concert programme symbolically combines Lithuanian and Polish cultures. Stanisław Moniuszko, who is credited with the first Polish opera, lived in Vilnius for 18 years and also composed on Lithuanian themes. Amilcare Ponchielli’s opera I Lituani (The Lithuanians) was based on work by Adam Mickiewicz, the historical poem Konrad Wallenrod. The concert will also feature Myroslav Skoryk’s Diptych, one of the 20th-century most beautiful works for string orchestra, considered a national treasure of Ukraine.
Concert organised in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland to the Republic of Lithuania and the Polish Institute in Vilnius
