Weekend Starts with Music

2017 has been exceptional for Kaunas City Orchestra – apart from being mentioned by the NYT, the Orchestra’s CD “A Tribute to Gilbert Duprez”, which was recorded in Kaunas, together with a famous Metropolitan Opera tenor John Osborn was labelled as the best record of November 2017.

“The year 2018 will be exceptional for Lithuania – we will be celebrating the centennial of our State. On this occasion we are promising to our city community and Kaunas guests even more exceptional concert programmes, which will feature famous artists from all over the world”, is stated in the press release from the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra.

This Friday, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra is introducing its old friends – Italian violinist Pavel Berman and a famous conductor Vilmantas Kaliūnas, who will be performing along the Orchestra the music of two exceptional composers from different times and places.

Shostakovich The Violin Concerto No. 1 was originally completed in 1948, but withheld for seven years by the composer, owing to the oppressive climate for artists in the Soviet Union at the time. The 35 minutes’ length musical piece is one of the most famous concerti for violin and orchestra. It is the first time when the composer used so called DSCH musical motive, which later marks all his works.

Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68 is orchestral work by German composer Johannes Brahms that, with its lyricism and thematic unity, is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonies of the Austro-German tradition. Nearly 20 years in the making, the composition premiered on November 4, 1876, in Karlsruhe, Germany.

The concert starts at 6pm, on Friday 19 January at Kaunas State Philharmonic.

Tickets here.