St. Kristoforo Festival opened for the 15th time in Vilnius July 1th. This time with a concert evening presenting musicians from the different music “dynastyes” in Lithuania. A very good idea, which became a 100 % succes.

Strange, but St. Catherines Church in Vilnius was not full for the opening night, as it use to be.Perhaps the arranging committee has forgotten that there should be an opening concert of the 1000 years jubilee at the Cathedral Square the same evening.

However. After having followed the last many hours of the jubilee opening at the tv the same evening. I was feeling privilliged to have had this wonderful experience in St. Catherine Church, with a lot of young talents, together with well renommented teachers, and other family members, with a long music experience in a long music world.

This opening concert became a fantastic evening.

15 YEARS WITH ST. KRISTOFORO FESTIVAL

Before the concert started Zigmantas Miksys leader of the City of Vilnius Culture administration was opening this

years festival and congratulating Donatas Katkus, leader of he Festival and conductor of the St. Kristoforo Chamber Orchestra with the 15 years festival jubilee.

BACH

It all started with Bachs double concerto for two violins and chamberorchestra in d-minor, the soloparts brilliantly peformed by Rusne Mataityte and Austeja Juskaityte. Both soloists performed brilliance and safety. I could hear that they were safe together, which gave a fulfillnes at the beautiful

Bach piece, played with a warm tune in the instruments. Because of the church aqustic, the middle part Largo ma ton tanto, became the most successfully. For such works like this Bach piece, with many high violin tunes at the same time, the acoustic is too good, and is often not giving the tunes possibility to grow one by one, this does that so many tunes sounds like a chaos. But the two violinists played wonderful.

GRIEG

Norwegian dances by Edvard Grieg, arranged for four hands piano followed up, very good by Petras Geniusas and his daugter Marija Geniusas. I could hear the small trolls in the Norwegian mountains. The typical Grieg way of composing in an ABA type, where the first part A of each of the tunes is being repited A after a lyrical B part, was taking brilliantly care of by these two outsatnding pianists. I wonder why for eksempel the famous three Norwegian Festivals in Bergen, Risør and Oslo not have been inviting these two excellent pianists to play for eksempel this Grieg piece at their festivals, as this big piece for four hands is not often heard in Norway. It was very representative for the two outstanding pianists.

CHOPIN

The very young pianist Paulis Andersson (14 years) followed with a brilliant powerfull performing of Chopins complicated Scherzo in cis-minor. This was played with an autority which normally only the grand pianists can show.I should have liked to hear this young pianist in more pieces in he sme progra, to het an even better and more variated impression of his art.

This was closely followed by even one more young pianist Rytis Juskaitis playing Tsjaikovskij. It is clear to me that Lithuania has a good school with good pedagogues at the piano.

Then we moved to contemporary music, first a piece by Vytautas Laurudas, which was more extraordinary than beautiful to me, but it gave the concert teh variation possibility, and in that way it was good

.

After a small Tango by Piazzolla, for two violins and piano.

VYSNIAUSKAS

This was closely followed by Petras Vysniauskas interesting Muzika in F, where F was the basic tune hold by the Kristoforo Chamber Orchestra. Where the two soloists the composer Petras Vysniauskas on alto saxofon and his son ? Dominykas Vysniauskas on trompet was performing in some thing that sounded like an improvisation, which I am shure it was not, as it was functioning too good. To me it gave a kind of “Star War”. It was an interesting composition, well formed. This was followed with the two same soloists in Duke Ellingtons Sentimental mood, where the orchestra was playing the tune, and the two soloists was suppose to impovisate around the theme. Unfortunately it sounded like that they have given every thing in the Muzika in F, the improvisations were not any surprising. Have they got a small break before this number it would have been better.

SAINT-SAENS

A part of Carnival of the Animals ended the concert with St
. Kristoforo Chamber Orchestra conducted by

Donatas Katkus

Donatas Katkus, with the two brilliant pianists Veronika Vitaite and Aleksandra Zvirblyte as soloists, brilliantly. The cello solo in the Swan was played discretly by two very beautiful playing unison cellos from the orchestra. Because of the grand piano we couldnt see them. That was a fantastic ending of the official program.

As encores 6 pianists on two grand pianos, were playing encores together with all the other soloists, and had a lot of fun.

A great concert festival opening, which will long be remembered.