XIX International Arts Festival "Orthodox Christmas in Lithuania"
PROGRAM

Dec. 14, 2022 at 7 p.m. st. St. Catherine's Church 
K.VARDELI STRING QUARTET (Georgia)
Tbilisi V. Saradzhyshvili State Conservatory 
The program includes works by C. Debussy, S. Tsintsadze, I. Bardanashvili, A. Piazzolla
 
On Dec. 17, 2022, at 7 p.m., st. St. Catherine's Church 
UKRAINIAN TRADITIONAL MUSIC EVENING
Ensemble DIČKA (Poland-Ukraine)

21 December 2022, 7 p.m. Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society
ANDREJ GUGNIN (piano, Croatia)
The program includes works by J.S. Bach, M. Ravel, I. Stravinsky, S. Rachmaninov
Tickets are on sale Kakava.lt

 Stars of the International Arts Festival "ORTHODOX CHRISTMAS IN LITHUANIA"

The festival "Orthodox Christmas in Lithuania" of the international program "Intercultural Dialogue"  will delight the residents and guests of the Lithuanian capital for the nineteenth time. Its initiator and main organizer is the  Slavic School of Traditional Music. Every year, the festival presents concerts of the world's most famous performers to its listeners, it  is open to music of all traditions and geographical latitudes and attracts attention with intriguing projects.
On Wednesday, December 14, 2022, at 7 p.m. in Vilnius St. In St. Catherine's Church, listeners will be delighted by the String Quartet of Konstantin Vardeli, the State Conservatory of Tbilisi Vanas Saradžyshvili. The program will feature C. Debussy - String Quartet in G minor, Op.10, S. Tsintsadze - String Quartet No. 6, I. Bardanashvili - works for string quartet.  One of the most dynamic and interesting Georgian collectives of this generation, the K. VARDELI String Quartet has received international attention and recognition from critics.  Ansamble is famous for its fiery performances, passionate style and musicalinterpretation of rafi.
The String Quartet of the Tbilisi V. Saradzhyshvili State Conservatory, founded in 2016, is named after the famous Georgian violinist Konstantin Vardeli. Currently, the collective is headed by a well-deserved Georgian artist, head of the string department of the Tbilisi V. Saradzhyshvili State Conservatory, professor Ernst Arakelov of the Yerevan State Conservatory. The quartet actively performs in Georgian and foreign countries, is the winner of international competitions. In 2020, the collective became the winner of the international string performers' competition in Valletta, Malta. The ensemble's repertoire and concert program include chamber music of different eras, works by Georgian composers. In 2017, on the initiative of the members of the quartet, the  first  Georgian Youth Kame Rhyme Orchestra was founded, with which the K. VARDELI String Quartet regularly performs in  solo concerts. In  2018, the quartet released its first CD, which featured miniatures from E. Grigo Quartet No.1, J. Haidn Quartet No.2 (Op.76) and S. Tsintsadze. The collective is one of the first youth quartets of S akartvelo, actively participating in international string quartet and chamber music competitions around the world.

Saturday, December 17, 2022, 7 p.m.  Vilnius St. St. Catherine's Church - UKRAINIEČIAI FOR THE EVENING OF TRADITIONAL MUZIKA, the program was prepared by ansamblis dička (Poland-Ukraine).
The program will feature K's allied hymns, kants and lyrical songs from different regions of Ukraine and Polese.  "Dička"  was founded in 2006 in Warsaw by members of a group of traditional music lovers. The repertoire of the collective consists of traditional village songs of different regions of Ukraine and Polese (Poland) – ceremonial, lyrical, religious. In their interpretations, the performers try to preserve the original dialects, the character and manners of the performance. "Dička" constantly performs in Poland and foreign countries, participates in festivals, theater, radio and film projects. Currently, the band's phonographic production consists of three CDs: Traditional Ukrainian Songs (2009), Polese's Christmas Carols (2012) and Road (2021). The album reached the final of the competition "Folklore Phonogram of the Year" of the Polish Radio Folklore Festival "Nowa Tradycja".The leader and founder of the group is a Ukrainian singer, ethnomusicologist, teacher, graduate of the Kiev Academy of Music, a member of the legendary Ukrainian band Drevo, founded in 1979 and combining performers and researchers of traditional music, a participant in many international traditional and contemporary music projects. "Dička" (ukrainian : wild fruit tree) is a unique tree, powerful and durable, able to survive in any conditions, spreading the strength that lies in the goodest fruits of the world. The music performed by the group "Dička" is the same - each song captivates with the original sound of individual voices, which merges into a harmonious whole. The natural, characteristic timbre takes us to poliase's primordial nature and conveys the longing for the Poltava region. Like the fruits of wild trees, these songs are saturated with everything from which they grew: the surrounding landscape, the fates of the people who sing them, the sun, the wind.
 Wednesday, December 21, 2022, 7 p.m.  In the Lithuanian National FIlharmonic, the festival was closedby the acclaimed artist, pianist ANDREY GUGNIN (Croatia), winner of international competitions and awards. The program will feature J.S Bach - S. Rachmaninov - Prelude, Gavotte and Gigue from Partita for violin E major No3, BWV 1006, M.  Ravel – Sonatina, I.  Stravinsky – "Petruška", S.  Rachmaninov – Preludes Op. 23 and 32.
Andrey Gugnin is a graduate of professor Vera Gornostayeva's class. Winner of the Gina Bachauer Pianist Competition in Salt Lake City (USA, 2014, gold medal and audience award), winner of the S. Stančič Competition in Zagreb (Croatia, 2011) and L. van Beethoven in Vienna (Austria, 2013). In 2016, Andrey Gugnin triumphed at the International Pianist Competition in Sydney, where he was awarded the first prize and several special awards. Soon, at the beginning of 2017, the performer made his debut in Lithuania – his performance at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall, the festival "Orthodox Christmas in Lithuania" remained in the hearts of impressed listeners for a long time. He has performed with the London Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, Niderland Symphony, St. Mary's Theatre, Russian National Philharmonic, Tatarstan State Symphony Orchestras, Salzburg Chamber and others. Collaborates with famous conductors – Daniil Raiskin, Lui Langre, Reinbert de Lju, Aleksandr Sladkovskij, J. Van Zveden, Dimitris Botinis, Stanislav Kočanovskij. She performs in more than 30 countries, calls in the most famous halls: Carnegie Hall of New York, The Royal Festival Hall of London, Victoria Hall in Geneva, the Golden Musikverein in Vienna, Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City, the Great Hall of the Moscow P. Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the Hall of the Maria Theater in St. Petersburg, the Sydney Opera House, the Louvre Concert Hall in Paris. The performer is a participant of the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, the Rure in Germany, the Ohrid Summer in Macedonia, the Dubrovnik Summer Festival in Croatia, Malta, Aberdeen (Scotland), Bermuda and many others. He has released CDs with Pianoclassics (an album with all of List's transcendental etudes buvo given by the famous Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice), Delos, Steinway & Sons, Hyperion Records.
The pianist is represented by the prestigious IMG artists agency in London.

Organizer – Slavic Traditional Music School

Organizers' information