Please note: the concert programme and performers have changed. Should you wish to return your tickets, this can be done at the original point of purchase up until the day of the concert.

The Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra’s season finale invites listeners on a colourful musical journey from the classical elegance of Vienna to the vibrant rhythms of Paris. This festive and dynamic end-of-season concert promises an evening full of dance, elegance, and international music.

The programme opens with Saint-Saëns’ “Danse macabre” – a mysterious and theatrical symphonic poem, bursting with vivid orchestral color and a mischievous character all its own. It will be followed by Mozart’s “Piano Concerto No. 21,” one of the most luminous and poetic works of the Classical period, revealing a subtle conversation between the soloist and the orchestra. Joining the orchestra for this concerto will be pianist Ignas Maknickas.

A Californian by birth and Lithuanian by upbringing, pianist Ignas Maknickas completed his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He is a laureate of numerous international competitions (Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT), Keyboard Prize at the Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL) Annual Music Competition, First Prize at the 19th Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition for Young Pianists in Szafarnia, First Prize at the 20th International Young Virtuoso Piano Competition in Zagreb, and Third Prize at the Aarhus International Piano Competition). In 2021, he reached the semi-finals of the prestigious Vendome Prize. In March 2025, the record label “Deux-elles” released his debut album “Opening,” which BBC Music Magazine described as “…an impressive recital album…”

The second half of the concert features the passionate “Spanish Dance No. 1” by M. de Falla, filled with southern fire and rhythmic vitality. The evening’s culmination is Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” – a jazz-infused symphonic poem, capturing the pulse of the modern 20th-century city and a transatlantic musical dialogue.

The conductor of this evening is the charismatic Vilmantas Kaliūnas. Born in Vilnius and based in Hamburg, Kaliūnas not only seeks musical energy but knows how to convey it to his audience. Raised in a family of artists (organists, painters, and musicians) he was surrounded by creativity from an early age. “I always search for vital energy in music,” says Vilmantas Kaliūnas. This energy defines his artistic style – clear, compelling, and alive. For him, conducting is more than technique; it is an act of connection between musicians and listeners, between the work and the present moment, between human beings and sound.