“Odessa Classics” in Vilnius

LITHUANIAN NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
(artistic director and principal conductor Modestas Pitrėnas)
NICO New Ideas Chamber Orchestra
(artistic director and conductor Gediminas Gelgotas)
Soloists: ALEXEY BOTVINOV (piano, Ukraine), OLEKSANDRA FEDOSOVA (violin; Ukraine, Switzerland)
Conductor GEDIMINAS GELGOTAS

Programme:
ANTONIO VIVALDI–MAX RICHTER – The Four Seasons
PHILIP GLASS – Tirol Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 1, 2nd mvt.
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH – Prelude in B minor, BWV 855a (Charles Coleman’s version for orchestra)
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN–MAX RICHTER – Opus 2020
GEDIMINAS GELGOTAS – Violin Concerto No. 1; Never Ignore the Cosmic Ocean; Praisedance; Mountains. Waters. Freedom

“Odessa Classics” is Ukraine’s largest international classical music festival and has already been listed in European festival guides and catalogues as one of the world’s most respected classical forums. The New Ideas Chamber Orchestra (NICO) made its first appearance there in 2020, and in September 2021, the festival in Odessa featured a concert by the NICO and the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO), with a programme prepared and conducted by Gediminas Gelgotas.

Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war, “Odessa Classics” concerts were held in Estonia in May and June, and on 14 October, the echoes of the festival will reach the stage of the Lithuanian National Philharmonic.

G. Gelgotas, the initiator of the concert, the NICO’s conductor and artistic director, says: “In the world of classical music, the “Odessa Classics” festival has become a symbol of Ukraine’s resistance to Russian aggression. Leading European concert organisations and renowned musicians are inviting to hold the festival, led by pianist Alexey Botvinov, or its individual concerts in concert halls across Europe. This year NICO has already participated in the “Odessa Classics” event in Thessaloniki, Greece, I myself have performed with violinist J. Wawrowski at the Beethoven House in Bonn, Germany, and in April, a concert by Botvinov and NICO at the Teatro Antico di Taormina in Sicily raised over 100,000 euros in support of the Ukraine.”

Tonight’s soloists are the Swiss-based Ukrainian violinist Oleksandra Fedosova and one of Ukraine’s most prominent pianists, Botvinov, the initiator, president and artistic director of the “Odessa Classics” festival.

Tickets online: www.kakava.lt