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LITHUANIAN NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY
www.nationalphilharmonic.eu
4th Vilnius Piano Music Festival
Tandems
Artistic director of the festival MŪZA RUBACKYTĖ
On November 14-28, 2015, the 4th Vilnius Piano Music Festival will take place at the Lithuanian Philharmonic Society. The
first Festival was held in 2009 and ever since this piano music forum organised every second year has carried out a mission of
introducing the outstanding artists to the Lithuanian audiences and demonstrating the highest level of skill and the experience
of different piano schools.
The Festival was devised by its artistic director Mūza Rubackytė – winner of the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition
in Budapest and a laureate of the Lithuanian National Culture and Arts Prize. Full of original ideas and highly demanding
towards the quality of the Festival’s programme, this artist strives to dedicate each festival to a certain significant topic or
issue. The motto of this year’s Festival is „Tandems“. All Festival concerts will take place at the Grand Hall of the Lithuanian
Philharmonic Society. Whishing you memorable moments!
PROGRAMME OF THE FESTIVAL
Saturday 14 November, 7 pm Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall
Opening concert
LITHUANIAN NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Modestas Pitrėnas
Soloist MŪZA RUBACKYTĖ (piano; Lithuania, France, Switzerland)
Conductor STEFAN LANO (USA, Switzerland)
Programme: MAURICE RAVEL – Alborada del gracioso for orchestra; BÉLA BARTÓK – Concerto for
piano and orchestra No. 3, Sz 119 / BB 127; SERGEI RACHMANINOV – Symphony No. 2 in E minor,
Op. 27
The Vilnius Piano Music Festival was launched in autumn of 2009 enriching the celebration of the Millennium of the Name of
Lithuania. In 2011, the festival was devoted to Franz Liszt’s music and the centenary of death of Lithuanian artist Mikalojus
Konstantinas Čiurlionis. In 2013, the festival presented a concert cycle Touched by Muses and paid tribute to contemporary
Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki on his 80th anniversary. This year the festival entitled Tandems will present seven
concerts.
The opening concert features a tandem of the pianist Mūza Rubackytė and maestro Stefano Lano. Both musicians have
collaborated for a number of years giving concerts around the globe. In 2014, they appeared with Uruguay Symphony
Orchestra in Montevideo, with Tirana Opera Orchestra gave a concert in Albania and in 2013 with Mendoza Symphony
Orchestra performed Chopin’s First Piano Concerto in Argentina.
Tonight the pianist will appear in Bartók’s Third Piano Concerto. The composer wrote it during the final months of his life in
New York. The opus was premiered after the death of the composer. Characteristic of this concerto is simplicity and bright
sonority; it seems, totally opposite of usual sharp and squarish sound of Bartók’s music.
Tonight’s programme also features two symphonic scores: Ravel’s cheery Alborada del gracioso (Morning Serenade of the
Jester), in the 15th century it was music performed at daybreak, often to celebrate a religious festival or honour a person – or
both; and Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony written during his highest creative period characterised by emotional verve,
youthful optimism and extraordinary melodiousness.
Tickets – 10, 14, 20, 30 Eur
Sunday 15 November, 4 pm Juozas Karosas Hall of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre
UDO STEINGRAEBER (Germany)
Lecture “Liszt and Wagner in Bayreuth and the oldest Festival on the Globe”
„The city of Bayreuth is a unique place – in the past it was called "The Arcadia of Germany" – a place of music, arts and
poetry, far away from the large and loud centres of Germany, situated in a lovely landscape, created by the Margraves in the
18th century. Richard Wagner was attracted by the unique Baroque Opera House, which offered the largest stage house on the
globe from 1748 on (today it is a world culture heritage of the UNESCO). Richard Wagner changed his mind and built his own
– even larger – "Festspielhaus" and founded the very first Music Festival on the globe dedicated to his own works only, in an
opera house were no other opera than the ten dedicated ones from Wagner's own hand are admitted; this was in 1876.
From 1872 on Wagner lived in Bayreuth, he reconciled himself with his friend and father-in-law Franz Liszt after the long
period of alienation caused by the relationship with Liszt's daughter Cosima. 20 years before, in 1852 already, the piano maker
Eduard Steingraeber had founded his workshops in the city of Bayreuth. He had been working in Vienna before and had
serviced concerts of Franz Liszt in 1846. They met again in his new hometown and Steingraeber supplied both music stars with
pianos and his service, but soon this assistance of the piano man was extended. Wagner's treatment of contemporary
instruments was unconventional and creative. New and unusual sounds could frequently be heard from the orchestra pit; one of
the most exciting new instruments Wagner ordered from Steingraeber was the "bell-piano", which he needed for the CGAEmotif in the opera Parsifal. He started with his Parsifal works in 1877 and that was the time Liszt was looking for a "Salon"
outside of Wagner's House Wahnfried to meet friends and colleagues. He found it in the Steingraeber House, the former
residence of the first minster of the Margraves. Here Liszt could work in a tranquil atmosphere… The relationship between
Liszt and Steingraeber lasted to his very last days in July 1886.
Udo Steingraeber represents the 6th generation of the Steingraeber family today. He will talk about the myth and the tragedies
of Bayreuth, Wagner and Liszt – the audience will be able to listen to the mighty "Gralsmotiv" in historic recordings, the very
last piece of Liszt, the Bagatelle sans Tonalité, played by Andrea Bonatta on the historic Liszt-Steingraeber piano... It is a
lecture as a little journey back to the culture of the 19th century spiced with a view to the present days of the Bayreuth
festival.“ – Udo Steingraeber
Admission free
Tuesday 17 November, 7 pm Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall
Movements
EDUARD & JOHANNES KUTROWATZ (piano duo, Austria)
Programme: FRANZ LISZT – Symphonic poem Orpheus (composer’s arrangement for two pianos)
PHILIP GLASS – Four Movements. ASTOR PIAZZOLLA – Winter in Buenos Aires, Spring in Buenos
Aires, Milonga del Angel, Libertango (arrangement for two pianos by Kyoko Yamamoto)
DAVE BRUBECK – Take Five, Summer Song, The Duke, Blue Rondo a la Turk (arrangement for two
pianos by Eduard Kutrowatz)
In November the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall will host the 4th Vilnius Piano Music Festival initiated and managed
by renowned pianist Mūza Rubackytė. Launched in 2009, the biannual piano music forum pursues the mission of introducing
Lithuanian audience to strong personalities, presenting the highest piano mastery and experience of diverse schools of the
piano art. This year Festival’s title Tandems refers to piano duo genre. Duo art requires exceptional concord, dialogue and live
“discussion” of the instruments. The Duo of brothers Eduard and Johannes Kutrowatz from Austria excels in that. Their Piano
Duo is among the leading piano duos in Europe. The winners of various competitions (Italy, Austria), pedagogues of the
Vienna University of Music also perform as soloists, chamber musicians and accompanists, are the initiators and artistic
directors of the festivals in Austria and Japan. The Piano Duo has toured in Europe, Japan, South Korea, Canada, the USA,
Australia and Africa. Critics emphasise the Duo’s expressivity and versatility. For the Vilnius Piano Music Festival audience
the Duo presents a programme embracing Liszt’s pensive poem Orpheus for two pianos, Philip Galss’ opus of hypnotising
musical flow, Astor Piazzolla’s passionate melodies and Dave Brubeck’s compositions in retro mode.
Tickets – 5, 7, 10, 14, 20 Eur
Thursday 19 November, 7 pm Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall
Winners of international competitions
Soloists pianists: MARIAM BATSASHVILI (Georgia), PETER KLIMO (USA)
Programme: FRANZ SCHUBERT– FRANZ LISZT – Liebesbotschaft, Frühlingsgabe, Ständchen von
Shakespeare. FRANZ LISZT – From the piano cycle Années de pèlerinage – Deuxième année: Italie:
Sonetto 104 del Petrarca in E major; Fantasia quasi sonata Aprés une lecture du Dante. FRANZ LISZT –
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13 in A minor, S. 244/13. GEORG FRIEDRICH HÄNDEL–FRANZ LISZT –
Sarabande and Chaconne on Themes from Händel’s Almira, S. 181. FRANZ LISZT – Bénédiction de
Dieu dans la solitude from the cycle Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, S. 173/3; Die Lorelei, S. 532;
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, S. 244/2
The 4th Vilnius Piano Music Festival presents Mariam Batsashvili and Peter Klimo, the winners of the 10th International Franz
Liszt Piano Competition, which took place in Utrecht (the Netherlands) in November 2014. Both pianists have given concerts
around the world: China, Brazil, South Africa, Russia, Indonesia, Georgia, Spain, Germany and other European countries.
In addition to the first prize, Batsashvili (born in Georgia) garnered the Junior Jury Award and the Press Prize. The pianist was
also a prize winner in international competitions in Weimar (Germany) and Granada (Spain); she gives recitals, appears as a
soloist with Erfurt Philharmonics and Cape Town Philharmonics.
Hungarian-American pianist Peter Klimo captured the second prize in the 10th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition.
Having completed his studies in New York and New Haven, he is currently continuing his education at Texas Christian
University. He has also earned prizes in various other piano competitions and performed in prestigious venues such as the
Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Tickets – 5, 7, 10, 14, 20 Eur
Saturday 21 November, 7 pm Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall
Concerto for Two
LITHUANIAN NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Modestas Pitrėnas
GRAU SCHUMACHER PIANO DUO (Germany):
ANDREAS GRAU, GÖTZ SCHUMACHER
Conductor ROBERTAS ŠERVENIKAS
Programme: SERGEI PROKOFIEV – Classical Symphony in D major, Op. 25; FRANCIS POULENC –
Concerto for two pianos and orchestra; CARL NIELSEN – Symphony No. 5, Op. 50 / FS 97. To mark
Carl Nielsen’s 150th birth anniversary
Halfway into the 4th Vilnius Piano Music Festival the audience is invited to meet the Andreas Grau and Götz Schumacher duo.
According to the prestigious music magazine Fono Forum, Grau Schumacher Piano Duo have affirmed themselves as the
leading piano duo and is compared to or even excelling Brothers Kontarsky Duo. Grau Schumacher Piano Duo has toured the
world performing a wide variety of music for two pianos including contemporary opuses. Several of their recordings earned La
monde de la musique, Diapason and Grammophone awards.
The Piano Duo will share the stage with the LNSO led by Robertas Šervenikas in Poulenc’s Concerto offering not only
sensitive themes but also elements of cabaret music. This work is considered to be the most significant opus in both Poulenc’s
output, and also of Les Six. The concert programme also features symphonic works by Prokofiev and Nielsen.
Tickets – 7, 10, 14, 20, 30 Eur
Tuesday 24 November, 7 pm Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall
Hungarian Tales
EDIT KLUKON & DEZSÖ RÁNKI (piano duo, Hungary)
Programme: BARNABÁS DUKAY – Oroszlános kút a növekvő Holdnál, Lithuanian premiere; FRANZ
LISZT – Symphony Dante, after Dante’s Divine Comedy (the composer’s transcription for two pianos);
Via Crucis. Les 14 Stations de la Croix for piano four hands
This year Festival’s title Tandems refers to piano duo genre. Hungarian Tales will be told by family of pianists – Dezsö Ránki
and Edit Klukon Piano Duo (playing both piano four hands and two pianos). A participant of prestigious festivals, Ránki has
given recitals in Milan, Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam, London, etc. He is a guest soloist with MDR Symphony, Luxembourg
Philharmonic, Lausanne Chamber, Belgian National, Danish Radio, Barcelona and Stuttgart Philharmonic orchestras. He has
recorded for major labels; for CD of Chopin’s Studies l’Académie Charles-Cros (French association of music critics and
connoisseurs) awarded him Grand Prix. Klukon is regularly performing in Europe, appearing as a chamber musician and
transcending as vocal accompanist. Ránki and Klukon Duo has participated in festivals in Salzburg, Lockenhaus, Munich,
Paris, London, Milan, Turin and Luzern. At the Vilnius Piano Music Festival the Duo presents Hungarian piano music
panorama central figure of which is Franz Liszt. The pianists will offer his rarely performed majestic opuses, and introduce the
audience to music of Barnabás Dukay, a contemporary Hungarian composer and Professor at the Franz Liszt Academy of
Music in Budapest. His music has earned acclaim in Great Britain, Canada, Japan and all around Europe.
Tickets – 5, 7, 10, 14, 20 Eur
Thursday 26 November, 7 pm Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall
Reverence for Bach
LITHUANIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Artistic director Sergej Krylov
Soloists pianists:
ANAHIT NERSESYAN (Armenia)
MŪZA RUBACKYTĖ (Lithuania, France, Switzerland)
KRISTINA ANNAMUKHAMEDOVA, MORTA GRIGALIŪNAITĖ
Conductor ADRIJA ČEPAITĖ
Programme: JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH – French Overture in B minor, BWV 831;
Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903. JOHANN CHRISTIAN BACH – Symphony Op. 3
No. 6 in G major, W.C6. JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH – Concerto for two pianos No. 3 in C minor,
BWV 1062; Concerto for two pianos No. 1 in C minor, BWV 1060
This concert in dedicated to J. S. Bach with the stage graced by four female pianists! First half of the evening presents a recital
of Armenian pianist Anahit Nersesyan. In 1980, she has won the first prize and Gold Medal at the 6th International Johann
Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig, took part in J.S. Bach 300th Birth Anniversary Festival in Germany. Nersesyan is a
Professor of Yerevan State Komitas Conservatory, serves as a jury member in a number of international competitions and
performs around the globe.
In the second half of the concert will be followed by Bach’s two double concertos in C minor: BWV 1060 will feature Mūza
Rubackytė, the festival’s artistic director, and Nersesyan, her study-mate from the Moscow Conservatoire. Both pianists share
the stage after a break of several decades. BWV 1062 will feature two young pianists, graduates of the M.K. Čiurlionis
National School of Arts. Morta Grigaliūnaitė is currently continuing her education at the Queen Sofía College of Music in
Madrid where she studies under the tutelage of Prof. D. Bashkirov. A winner of several international competitions, she has
appeared with various Lithuanian orchestras as well as chamber orchestras of Georgia and Azerbaijan. Kristina
Annamuchamedova studies with Prof. E.T. Tawaststjerna at the Sibelius Academy in Finland. She is a recipient of prestigious
awards and participant of various music festivals.
Conductor Adrija Čepaitė graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and the University of Music and
Performing Arts in Graz (Austria). Her education embraced orchestral and choral conducting as well as church music.
Tickets – 7, 10, 14, 20 Eur
Saturday 28 November, 7 pm Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall
Closing of the Festival
KREMERATA BALTICA CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Artistic director Gidon Kremer
Soloist MIKHAIL PLETNEV (piano, Russia)
Programme: STEVAN KOVACS TICKMAYER – After Gould (arrangement of several excerpts from J.
S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations with A. Schoenberg’s insertions). ANTON WEBERN – String quartet
(Ch. Poppen’s version for string orchestra). JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH – Concerto for piano in D
minor, BWV 1052. GUSTAV MAHLER – Piano quartet in A minor (A. Asteriades’ version for string
orchestra). JOSEPH HAYDN – Concerto for piano in D major, Hob. XVIII/11
The 4th Vilnius Piano Music Festival’s closing concert presents internationally renowned Kremerata Baltica Chamber
Orchestra and one of the foremost Russian pianists Mikhail Pletnev. Winner of the Gold Medal in the 6th International
Tchaikovsky Competition, founder and artistic director of the Russian National Orchestra, composer, internationally acclaimed
concert pianist and conductor, Pletnev has recorded a number of Grammy and Grammophone Award CD’s (complete piano
concertos by Beethoven, complete symphonies by Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, etc.).
Dubbed the Baltic culture ambassador, Kremerata Baltica Chamber Orchestra, involving youth of three Baltic States, was
initiated in Vilnius in 1997. In its annual tours comprising around 60 concerts, the Orchestra has visited Europe, Asia,
Australia, South and North America. Kremerata Baltica has given more than 1000 concerts in over 50 countries. In addition to
its regular appearances in major concert halls in Vienna, Berlin, Paris, London, Moscow and New York, it participates in
music festivals in Salzburg, Dresden, London, Schleswig-Holstein, Prague and Baden Baden and of course the Baltic States.
The finest performers and the artistic director’s innovative approach to the repertoire determine the Orchestra’s mastery:
embracing wide and multileveled musical domain the emphasis is often laid on contemporary academic music.
Partner of the Concert – Kremerata Baltica
Tickets – 7, 10, 14, 20 Eur
***
TICKETING INFORMATION
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Box Offices (service charges apply).
Bookings and for more information by telephone.: (+370 5) 266 5233, 266 5216, by mobile +370 698 52 075, by e-mail [email protected], online at
www.nationalphilharmonic.eu. Check the available discounts at www.nationalphilharmonic.eu
The Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society reserves the right to change the scheduled programmes and performers. The information is correct as of going
to print, 3 November 2015.