The Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society (LNPhS) has already announced the events for January-May 2025 on its website and is getting ready for a royal welcome of the new concert year. On 5 January, the Musica humana Ensemble and soloists will kick off the new concert year with the programme Three Kings’ Gifts. The stable rhythm of the concert circle will be endorsed by the programme Stabat Mater on 11 January, performed by the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra (LCO) and Vilnius Choir, as well as the concert with the famous Polish piano virtuoso Rafał Blechacz on 15 January. Both concerts will be conducted by Maestro Robertas Šervenikas. From 5 January to 16 May, the National Philharmonic audience will be treated to dozens of concerts of various genres, memorable meetings with Lithuanian and foreign stars, engaging programmes, celebrations and premieres.
“The Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society welcomed its 84th season full of exquisite concert plans, ideas for the development of relations with various cultural and diplomatic organisations, new ambitions for educational activities, and incentives to get involved in international cultural projects throughout Lithuania. One of them is the celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Lithuania’s classic and cultural ambassador to the world, our famous painter and composer,” says Rūta Prusevičienė, Director General of the LNPhS.
The National Philharmonic has arranged a variety of concerts, from evenings of symphonic music to playful chamber programmes. Lithuanian ensembles and soloists will not only celebrate Čiurlionis in Lithuania, but also actively represent him abroad. The flagship of the tours on this occasion will be Čiurlionis Quartet, which will appear in Finland, Georgia, Azerbaijan, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Moldova and Germany. At the Probaltica Festival in Poland, Čiurlionis will be presented by the LNSO and conductor Robertas Šervenikas, while the LCO with its artistic director, violinist Sergej Krylov, will extend the celebration of the Year of M. K. Čiurlionis to Bulgaria and Turkey.
The National Philharmonic will host several programmes developed by various artists to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Čiurlionis’ birth. “I would like to highlight three important events on the occasion of the Year of M.K. Čiurlionis: the concert Dedication to Lithuania. LNSO, “Vilnius” Choir, Modestas Pitrėnas, Lukas Geniušas to mark the Day of the Restoration of the State of Lithuania, which will premiere the works by Zita Bružaitė, Donatas Zakaras, Raminta Šerkšnytė and will take place on 16 February; the concert Čiurlionis Code II. LNSO, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, “Trio Agora”, which will feature Čiurlionis’ symphonic poem The Sea and a new work Self-Portrait with Čiurlionis by the American composer Joel Hoffman on 15 March; as well as the concert Sonata of the Mountains. LNSO, Petras Geniušas, Victorien Vanoosten on 22 March, where the Čiurlionian mountain theme will be echoed by Osvaldas Balakauskas’ Sonata of the Mountains”, says Prusevičienė.
The concerts will also mark other important anniversaries. The aforementioned symphonic music concert on 15 January observes the start of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU and is therefore organised in cooperation with the Polish Institute and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Vilnius. The concert will feature an aptly chosen soloist – Rafał Blechacz, the winner of the 15th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, one of Poland’s most dashing ambassadors of the Polish stage. The National Philharmonic will be the venue for the ensembles celebrating anniversaries this season: the 25th anniversary of the Vilnius Balys Dvarionas Music School’s pupils symphony orchestra Simfukai (9 February), and the 80th anniversary of the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art (16 April). The composer Feliksas Bajoras’ anniversary concerts will continue with the vocal programme Works for Voice and Piano by Feliksas Bajoras, conceived by Giedrė Kaukaitė and organised with her young colleagues, the singers (9 February). Composer and conductor Vykintas Baltakas will pay tribute to his teacher Wolfgang Rihm with the symphonic music programme Dispute with Schubert featuring the LCO and cellist Mindaugas Bačkus (9 April).
What other great musicians will we see this semester? “I suggest you don’t miss the LCO’s concert with the very interesting Ukrainian conductor Oksana Madarash on 18 January, the LNSO’s concert with the French violinist Philippe Graffin on 8 February, the concert presenting Heifetz Competition winners Dmytro Udovychenko and Javier Comesaña Barrera and the pianist Lukas Geniušas on 19 February. For those interested in Oriental culture, I would recommend the LCO’s concert with Turkish musicians Murat Cem Orhan, conductor, and Çağatay Akyol, harpist, scheduled for 1 March. On 12 April, flute fans will be in for a real treat with Greek flutist Stathis Karapanos joining the LNSO. The magic of the cello will engulf the audience in the LNSO’s concert with David Geringas and Stanislas Kim on 17 April. For those looking forward to encounters with the French baton maestro Victorien Vanoosten, the programme Bruckner Imprints, conducted by him on 26 April, is a must. I would encourage you to attend not only the concerts of foreign guests, but also the concerts featuring Lithuanian musicians, who are presenting interesting programmes this semester”, says Prusevičienė.
According to the Director General of the LNPhS, the highlights of the season will be the commemoration of Krzysztof Penderecki, a Polish composer who was a friend of Lithuania, with the LNSO’s programme Metamorphoses featuring violinist Sergej Krylov and conductor Andrzej Boreyko on 8 March, and the concert Čiurlionis Code II with conductor Mirga Gražinytė and Trio Agora on 15 March. The dynamic culmination of the entire 84th season will come to a bubbling climax in May – on 9 May, pianist and conductor Barry Douglas will perform the programme The Triumph of Viennese Classics with the LCO, and on 16 May, the symphonic music season will be crowned with a concert of the LNSO conducted by Modestas Pitrėnas with violinist Yukine Kuroki, soprano Viktorija Miškūnaitė and the Vilnius Choir.
For full information on the concerts of the 84th LNPhS season, please visit www.nationalphilharmonic.lt We invite you to take advantage of the season tickets offered this season and look forward to seeing you at the concerts! LNPhS 84th concert season is sponsored by NORFA.
LNPhS inf.
