Vilnius Festival 2014
VILNIUS FESTIVAL 2014
18th festival
Native Europe. United by Music
2–21 June, 2014
Dear Friends of the Vilnius Festival,
Established in 1997 by the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society, the Vilnius Festival annually presents world music stars, fuses diverse music trends, theatre and dance.
The Festival’s eighteenth edition will open and close on the stage of the Lithuanian Opera and Ballet Theatre. Both concerts will feature Händel’s music. Composer Gintaras Sodeika will introduce his new Concerto for piano and orchestra; we will join the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra for the anniversary of composer Alfred Schnittke; Lukas Geniušas will grace the stage for the Recital of the Festival.
Genre democracy and versatility is characteristic of the Vilnius Festival, which caters to a wide variety of layers of society and aesthetic preferences. Therefore in addition to the celebrated British Orchestra Academy of Ancient Music, which will gratify the early music aficionados, this year’s program includes Swedish vocal ensemble The Real Group, and Hungarian virtuoso Roby Lakatos, a musician displaying an extraordinary musical polystylism.
In an attempt to fathom the common denominator of this year’s programme, I endorse the suggestion of Rūta Prusevičienė, the Executive Director of the Festival, to employ the idea of Native Realm (Native Europe), one of the most fundamental works by our co-citizen Czesław Miłosz, as an umbrella for the programmes of the Festival. Europe is not uniform, but it unites and brings us together, thanks to its enchanting culture and art. The Festival also features artists who travel around Europe revealing its multicoloured treasures. Wishing you a memorable experience!
Gintautas Kėvišas,
Director of the Vilnius Festival