Čiurlioniada: Piano Music Evening | Lithuanian and Ukrainian Piano Duos Dedication to the Čiurlionis' Year

Two distinguished piano duos – Rūta Rikterė and Zbignevas Ibelgauptas, Jurijus Kotas and Iryna Aleksiychuk – will share the stage of the Lithuanian National Philharmonic, presenting a captivating and stylistically diverse program.

This evening of piano music is dedicated to Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis in celebration of his 150th birthday. The audience will hear a transcription of his symphonic poem "In the Forest" as well as his rarely performed "Preludes for Organ", arranged for piano duo. However, the evening program is not limited to Čiurlionis alone – listeners will also have a unique opportunity to experience how his music resonates in the context of his contemporaries. The concert will include works by Ferenc Liszt and French composer Maurice Ravel, whose 150th anniversary is also being celebrated worldwide. The first part of the programme will also feature the premiere – "Urbs urbium", a new piece by the laureate of the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts Zita Bružaitė. According to her, the composition draws inspiration from the cities emerging out of Čiurlionis’ paintings.

 

Alongside the music of Čiurlionis, his contemporaries, and composers inspired by him, another highlight of the evening will be original compositions by Iryna Aleksiychuk. At the heart of the performance lies a suite based on "Viy", a novella by Ukrainian writer Mykola Hohol. This evocative work blends moments of horror and tension with motifs from Ukrainian folklore, where the mythical figures appear. Through its gripping episodes, the piece confronts the limits of spiritual resilience and the inevitable fate.

 

This event is part of the concert series "Čiurlioniada. Piano and Organ Music Evenings". On this special occasion, the Center for International Cultural Projects has invited special guests and jury members, laureates of the various editions of the International M. K. Čiurlionis Organ and Piano Competition to the Lithuanian capital. In addition to the composer's own organ and piano works, the program of the cycle will also include premieres of the pieces inspired by Čiurlionis's legacy, explications of the fragments or just the themes left, improvisations, newly prepared and previously created arrangements, and the work of contemporaries.

 

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PROGRAMME

 

PART I:

 

❯ Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875–1911)

Organ Preludes (arr. K. Grybauskas)

 

❯ Ferenc Liszt (1811–1886)

Les préludes, symphonic poem No.3, S.97

 

❯ Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)

La valse, M. 72 (original arr. by the composer)

 

❯ Zita Bružaitė (b. 1966)

Urbs urbium (premiere)

 

PART II:

 

❯ Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875–1911)

In the Forest, symphonic poem (arr. J. Aleksa)

 

❯ Iryna Aleksiychuk (b. 1967)

Suite based on the novella Viy by Mykola Hohol:

I. Introduction. The Seminarians

II. On the Road

III. The Death of Pannochka

IV. Khoma Dances

V. In the Church

VI. Epilogue

 

Concert Fantasy On Midsummer Night

Kolomyika No. 1 (Oh, in the Field – Oooh!)

Kolomyika No. 2 (Oh, in the Forest – Hop, Hop!) 

 

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ARTISTS

 

Rūta Rikterė and Zbignevas Ibelhauptas is one of the most prominent piano duo in Lithuania, actively performing together since 1989. Both pianists were prize winners of the International M. K. Piano Competition in 1982. Laureates of the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts, they have consistently nurtured the piano duo genre, presenting distinctive programs and premiering numerous works for two pianos by both Lithuanian and international composers.

 

The duo has performed at prestigious festivals across Europe, North America, and Asia, and has collaborated with leading orchestras under the baton of world-renowned conductors. Both artists are professors at the Piano Department of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, also actively engaged in performative and pedagogical work in Lithuania and abroad.

 

Jurij Kot and Iryna Aleksiychuk is a Ukrainian piano duo with an internationally recognized career, performing together since 1983. They are laureates of major international competitions, including the prestigious ARD International Music Competition in Munich, and the Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition in Miami. Their repertoire spans from classical masterpieces to original compositions, including many works written specifically for their ensemble.

 

Kot and Aleksiychuk are among the leading interpreters of contemporary Ukrainian music for piano duo. Both musicians are professors at the National Music Academy of Ukraine in Kyiv. They have been awarded the L. Revutsky Prize by the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, and hold the honorary title of Merited Artists of Ukraine.

 

Zita Bružaitė (Lithuania) is a composer and laureate of the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts. Her work spans a wide range of genres – from symphonic poems and masses to children's operas and chamber music. Having led the Lithuanian Composers’ Union for many years, and serving as Vice-Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, she is not only an active composer, but also a dedicated contributor to the country’s cultural life and initiator of international music projects.

 

She has participated in numerous artist residencies, her compositions are performed at prestigious festivals both in Lithuania and abroad. Bružaitė’s music stands out for its stylistic diversity – the composer herself emphasizes that each of her works is new, individual, and independent from the previous ones, seeking for a direct emotional connection with the listener. 

 

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EVENT INFORMATION

 

Date and time: October 12, 2025, 7 PM

Venue: Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society

Address: Aušros Vartų st. 5, Vilnius

 

Tickets: HERE

 

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ORGANISER

 

Centre for International Cultural Projects Lithuania 

 

Contact: info@ipmc.lt / +370 699 31852

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