Ode to Joy. Closing concert of the Vilnius Festival

Sunday 21 June, 19:00, Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre

Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, Vilnius

Performers
LITHUANIAN NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
KAUNAS STATE CHOIR
LITHUANIAN NATIONAL OPERA CHORUS

Soloists
VESTARDS ŠIMKUS (piano, Latvia)
LIENE KINČA (soprano, Latvia)
OLESYA PETROVA (mezzo-soprano, Russia)
ANDREAS SCHAGER (tenor, Germany)
RIHARDS MAČANOVSKIS (bass-baritone, Latvia)
Conductor MODESTAS PITRĖNAS

Programme
Ode to Joy. Closing concert of the Vilnius Festival
EMĪLS DĀRZIŅŠ – Valse mélancolique
SERGEI PROKOFIEV – Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 3 in C major, Op. 26
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN – Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125

A bounteous group of musicians from Lithuania, Latvia and Russia will gather for the Vilnius Festival closing gala concert, which in addition will celebrate Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre will host the programme featuring Valse mélancolique, the only extant symphonic scorebyEmīls 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 Barcelona, one of the world’s foremost piano contests.

The Festival will conclude with Ludwig van Beethoven’s monumental Ninth Symphony. Having emerged as a visionary and groundbreaking opus in the beginning of the 19th century, the Symphony remains one of some few musical summits in the panorama of world’s music legacy. The Symphony will engage impressive performing forces – the LNSO, Kaunas State Choir, Lithuanian National Opera Chorus, Latvian, German and Russian soloists led by Maestro Modestas Pitrėnas.