29 April 2023, 6pm
Duration: 2 hours
Price: €9,00 - €14,00
Venue: Kaunas State Philharmonic Hall (E. Ožeškienės Str. 12, Kaunas)
Violin Diana Tishchenko
Orchestra Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Robertas Šervenikas

L. van Beethoven. Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61
F. Mendelssohn. Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 (“The Italian”)

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Born in Crimea and currently living in Berlin, violinist Diana Tishchenko is conquering the whole world with her talent. The soloist started studying the violin at the age of six with her aunt, and made her debut with the Crimean Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of eight. As soon as she turned 18, D. Tishchenko was invited to play in Gustav Mahler's youth symphony orchestra in Vienna and at the age of 20 she became its concertmaster. Together with this orchestra she participated and performed in the most famous European concert halls. The young violin virtuoso already has an impressive number of achievements, one of the most important of which is her victory at the prestigious international Long-Thibaud-Crespin competition held in Paris (in 2018). In 2020, the European Concert Hall Organization (ECHO) gave the violinist the Rising Star Award. In 2019 D. Tishchenko released her debut album, which was awarded 5 stars by the BBC Music Magazine, and the artist was praised for "a truly unique and individual sound, beauty of tones, brilliance of colours and spectrum". Since 2022 D. Tishchenko has been the artistic director of the concert cycle "Resonanzen" in Siegburg (Germany). This evening, D. Tishchenko will perform Ludwig van Beethoven's (1770-1827) Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major. For more than 200 years, this work has been recognized as one of the greatest works ever written for the violin.

In the second part of the concert, the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra will invite the audience to hear the "Italian" Symphony by Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), inspired by the composer's trip to Italy. "This is Italy! Now began what I have always considered the greatest joy in life. My Italian Symphony is gaining momentum. It will be the happiest work I have ever written," – F. Mendelssohn wrote in his letters from Rome to his sister.

The concert shall be conducted by one of the most prominent Lithuanian conductors of his generation, laureate of the Lithuanian National Culture and Art Prize, maestro Robertas Šervenikas. In 2021 R. Šervenikas became the artistic director and chief conductor of the Kaunas State Choir. The conductor is especially appreciated for his active and versatile creative expression – premieres of symphonic works by Lithuanian composers, as well as evocative and mature interpretations of contemporary and classical music. R. Šervenikas is also regularly invited to cooperate with the Bavarian State Opera Theatre (Munich, Germany).