XVII Pazaislis music festival has started in Lithuania. The main purpose of the festival is to popularise classical music, enrich the cultural life and to promote the international dialogue and cultural collaboration.
Pazaislis music festival will continue all summer. It is held since 1996 and is one of the most significant cultural events in Lithuania. During the festival there will be organised 40 concerts and about 100 soloists, actors and conductors, 5 choirs and 3 symphony orchestras from Lithuania and other countries will appear on the scene.
This year Pazaislis music festival is dedicated to Maironis who is a famous Lithuanian romantic poet. His 150 birth anniversary is celebrated.
Concerts will take place in churches, estates and other historical places. About one third of the concerts will be free of charge.
Over the 15 years of its existence, the Pazaislis Music Festival has put on more than 500 concerts.
Video material that was submitted to European Broadcasting Union:
Shotlist:
1. Opening concert - Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra playing Vivaldi 'Gloria'
2. Soundbite (Lithuanian), principal conductor of the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, Gintaras Rinkevicius, saying: The most important thing is that the weather would be fine, that the mood would be good and that the music would be as much diverse as possible. And usually variety of music in Pazaislis Music Festival is always present. I think that the more diverse music people can hear, the richer spiritual world gets.
3. More of the concert
4. Soundbite (Lithuanian), soloist, Liudas Mikalauskas, saying: This festival always motivates you to make something new, something unseen. All the time a new programme. Pazaislis is like a new phase in a year.
5. More of the concert
