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Press release
April 9, 2015
19th Vilnius Festival gathers stars from various geographical latitudes
At the speed of light Vilnius becomes filled with the sounds of programmes of
one of the most important music events of Lithuania – the Vilnius Festival.
Planned for 1-21 June this year the Festival is anticipating seven programmes
featuring performers from diverse countries spanning from our neighbour
Latvia to China.
To be held for the nineteenth time the Vilnius Festival remains faithful to its tradition
of presenting symphonic and chamber music programmes featuring leading
Lithuanian and foreign performers, jazz and baroque programmes, premiering
contemporary Lithuanian work, collaborating with other European festivals. During
its existence having greatly enriched the music life of our capital city and
considerably contributed to the cultural tourism, the Festival again is anticipating an
enthusiastic attention from local and international music connoisseurs.
Music illuminates the world, this year Festival’s motto, stirs to use music as a vehicle
for discovering the world.
At the opening concert on June 1st the Lithuanian performers will be led by Kristjan
Järvi, an internationally acclaimed Estonian-born American master of the baton.
Under his direction the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra will share the stage
with Khatia Buniatishvili, a Georgian pianist of younger generation. The MDR
(Central German Broadcasting) Symphony Orchestra will give Lithuanian premiere to
Lithuanian composer Gediminas Gelgotas’ opus Extracultural (Vilnius Festival
commission). At the very beginning of the year the opus performed by the MDR SO,
NICO Ensemble and conductor K.Järvi has received world premiere in Leipzig’s
legendary Gewandhaus. Members of NICO (artistic director Gediminas Gelgotas)
will also appear on the Lithuanian premiere of Extracultural.
On June 3rd the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra (LCO) and its artistic director,
conductor and soloist Sergej Krylov will collaborate with Avi Avital, a mandolin
virtuoso from Israel. The astounding mandolinist will indulge Vilnius audience with
Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi’s concertos arranged for mandolin and
orchestra. The LCO will also perform works by Arvo Pärt, an Estonian composer
celebrating his 80th anniversary this year.
One of the highlights of this year’s Festival will be the gem of the Chinese Culture
Year in the Baltic States – Female Generals of the Yang Family, the production of
China National Peking Opera Company. Vilnius Festival presents an exceptional
opportunity to experience this unique phenomenon, which fascinates and mesmerises
millions of art lovers and professionals around the world. Peking Opera is, perhaps,
the richest and most complex style of Chinese musical drama, pursued in Northeast
China. The Opera will be on view in Vilnius on June 4th.
The mystery of unknown world will be uncovered in Traces of Martinique Past on
June 7th featuring Grégory Privat, a celebrated jazz pianist and generator of
intriguing projects (Martinique and France), and his Quintet: Manu Codjia (guitar,
France), Jiri Slavik (double bass, Czech Republic and France), Sonny Troupé
(Guadalupe and France), Adriano Tenório (percussion, Brazil), and guest of the
Quintet – Gustav Karlström (vocal, Sweden). They will present internationally
acclaimed programme Tales of Cyparis, which was also released as a CD. The
musicians tell a real story in universal jazz music language. In 1902, volcanic eruption
destroyed Martinique’s capital Saint-Pierre and killed its entire population.
Imprisoned in a stone bunker Louis-Auguste Cyparis (1875–1929) was the only one
to survive the fatal blast. Later he toured the world with Barnum & Bailey Circus
telling his incredible story.
Under the rubric of baroque the Festival offers Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantatas
dedicated to the rulers of Lithuania and Poland. On June 9th the Polish musicians
will present a special programme at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania,
which will be a present of Wratislavia Cantans (Wrocław Music Festival) to the 19th
Vilnius Festival. J.S. Bach’s so-called ‘Polish’ cantatas composed in Leipzig and
dedicated to Augustus III, the then ruler of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, his
spouse and the Queen Mother will be performed by Wrocław Baroque Orchestra and
Wrocław National Music Forum Choir, soloists and conductor Andrzej Kosendiak.
At the Festival’s chamber music evening on June 11th remarkable Italian and
Lithuanian ensembles – Quartetto di Cremona and Mettis String Quartet – will
perform chamber music masterpieces by Luigi Boccherini, Giuseppe Verdi, Philip
Glass and Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.
The Festival will be crowned by Ode to Joy concert. On June 21st a bounteous
international group of musicians will gather for the Vilnius Festival closing gala
concert and celebrate Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The
programme will feature Valse mélancolique, the only extant symphonic score by
Emīls Dārziņš, Latvia’s music patriarch, in which he masterfully blended folk
intonations and romantic harmony. Sergei Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto, a true
feat for a pianist, will feature Latvian pianist Vestards Šimkus, a first prize winner of
Maria Canals International Piano Competition in Budapest, one of the world’s
foremost piano contests. The Festival will conclude with Ludwig van Beethoven’s
monumental Ninth Symphony performed by the LNSO, two mixed choirs – Latvija
and Kaunas State Choir, Latvian, German and Russian soloists led by Maestro
Modestas Pitrėnas.
The Festival is organised by the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society and
PI Vilniaus Festivaliai.
For more information on the events of the festival: www.filharmonija.lt
VF inf.