One of the most anticipated, sought-after and perhaps the most important Lithuanian classical music events, the 29th Vilnius Festival, will take place this year from 30 May to 20 June, with a concert on 20 August as its symbolic post scriptum. Among the international celebrities expected are violin notables Christian Tetzlaff, Janine Jansen and the Camerata Salzburg Orchestra, the Early Music Chamber Orchestra Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, piano legend András Schiff, world opera star Joseph Calleja, Maestra Keri-Lynn Wilson and the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, and many others. We will also see some of Lithuania’s most famous performers and orchestras.
“Since the very first Vilnius Festival, its main idea has been to promote the historical and modern values of world culture in society. The cooperation between Lithuanian and foreign musicians promotes the creation of a multicultural music scene in Lithuania, tolerance and trust between artists and society, and the search for and support of new artistic forces. Since the very beginning of the Vilnius Festival, we have been committed to one of its goals, promotion of our country’s musical culture in the world, and we try to keep the standard of the festival’s programme high and to present the best musicians, ensembles, and works,” says the festival’s director Rūta Prusevičienė.
This year’s festival is organised by the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society and PI Vilnius Festivals. According to Remigijus Merkelys, the head of the latter institution, over the years the Vilnius Festival has patently enriched the country’s musical life and contributed to the development of cultural tourism. Thanks to this festival, our capital can be proud of the concerts of world-famous performers, spreading the word about the vibrancy of Lithuanian culture, high artistic ambitions, and packed concert halls. Therefore, the Vilnius Festival is highly visible in the overall context of the Vilnius Festivals, ensuring a solid cultural life of our country.
According to the organisers, this year’s festival will bring together some of the brightest stars from abroad, will feature the best performers from our own country, and will present well-known music as well as music that is not yet known or rarely heard.
On 30 May, the festival will open with the programme The Great Romantics. Works by Johannes Brahms and Jean Sibelius will be performed by the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO), led by Georgian conducted Mirian Khukhunaishvili, with violin soloist Christian Tetzlaff.
On 1 June, the festival will feature German guests Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, an Early Music Chamber Orchestra, and Georg Kallweit (baroque violin). On 4 June, Mūza Rubackytė will give a piano recital. On 6 June, Maurice Ravel’s music feast will be presented by the LNSO, conductor and pianist Victorien Vanoosten and soloist Gabrielė Bukinė (soprano). On 7 June, the programme Visions of Čiurlionis and Mendelssohn will be a delight for all with violin star Janine Jansen and the famous Camerata Salzburg Orchestra. On 11 June, piano legend Sir András Schiff will give his first concert in Lithuania.
On 13 June, on the eve of the Day of Mourning and Hope, the programme Invocations of Faith and Hope will be performed by the LNSO, the Kaunas State Choir, the narrator Darius Meškauskas and the conductor Robertas Šervenikas, with projected opuses by Onutė Narbutaitė and Algirdas Martinaitis. On 15 June, virtuosos from Taiwan will salute Vilnius at the festival. On 18 June, the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, violinist and conductor Sergej Krylov, and the pianist Andrius Žlabys, always anticipated in Lithuania, will come together for a programme with the intriguing title Dispute Between J.S. Bach and A. Žlabys. This time the pianist will also introduce himself as a composer.
The culmination of the festival is scheduled for 20 June, when the LNSO conducted by Modestas Pitrėnas will share the stage with Joseph Calleja, the world’s opera star. And the spectacular postlude, or post scriptum, of the festival will be the concert Slava Ukraini! on 20 August, featuring the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson and soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen.
Ten festival concerts will take place in the Concert Hall of the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society and one in the Church of St. Casimir in Vilnius (admission to the former is free). All concerts are announced on the website www.nationalphilharmonic.lt Tickets for festival concerts on 7–11 May are 20% discounted (except for the lowest price category) – get your tickets at a better price!
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