EuroLiszt Festival | “Gypsy or Franciscan”

On October 17–18, Paliesius Manor shares an exceptional announcement: we are hosting the inaugural “EuroLiszt Festival,” an international piano music festival. This year’s theme explores the duality of “Gypsy or Franciscan.” The festival’s artistic director is Mūza Rubackytė.

The festival is dedicated to Franz Liszt—one of the most brilliant creators and personalities in European musical history. Throughout the event, Liszt will be revealed as a European humanist, a modernist, and a cultural mediator. He was not merely a composer or an icon of the piano, but a figure who spent his life uniting disparate cultures, nations, artistic movements, and spiritual ideals.

The festival’s artistic director is the world-renowned pianist Mūza Rubackytė, who for over three decades has consistently curated international projects connecting Lithuania with the European musical tradition. The core ambition of her work is to build a bridge between Lithuania and Europe through the art of music.

Paliesius Manor was chosen for this festival with thoughtful intent. In the 19th century, European musical culture thrived within salons, estates, and aristocratic spaces—not just as an act of performance, but as a deeply social and spiritual experience. It was in exactly such settings that Liszt performed during his tours’ “Glanzzeit” (period of splendor), playing for monarchs, high society, and the intellectual centers of Europe. Paliesius Manor allows us to revive this tradition: the close bond between performer and listener, an intimate atmosphere of listening, and a chamber-like appreciation of music. At the same time, through vibrant, highly professional, and international artistry, the festival seeks to breathe life back into historical manors as sites of cultural heritage—a tradition that was lost during the Soviet era.

Mūza Rubackytė is a Lithuanian pianist, born in Lithuania and currently residing in Paris, Vilnius, and Geneva. She made her debut at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic at the age of seven, graduated from the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art, and studied at the Lithuanian Conservatory (now the LMTA). By becoming a laureate of the All-Union Competition and winning the prestigious Liszt-Bartók Piano Competition in Budapest (1981), she became the first Lithuanian pianist in a long time to achieve international acclaim. Having lost the trust of the Soviet authorities, the pianist was stripped of her passport and the right to perform abroad for seven years; however, immediately after independence was restored, she trained in Paris, earned a diploma from the École Normale de Musique de Paris, and became a laureate of the Les Grands Maîtres Français international competition.

Today, the pianist performs on every continent, appearing in prestigious venues such as London’s Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colón, Rio de Janeiro’s Theatro Municipal, and Tokyo’s Casals Hall, as well as in exotic locales across Morocco, Malaysia, Singapore, Mozambique, and Puerto Rico. She collaborates with renowned orchestras in Europe, the USA, South America, and Asia. M. Rubackytė performs with many top-tier US orchestras and collaborates with the symphony orchestras of Santiago’s Teatro Municipal, Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colón, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Lausanne, alongside various French ensembles. Her artistry draws significant attention from prominent radio stations, including Radio Suisse Romande and Radio France.

At distinguished festivals, she has performed F. Liszt’s complete “Années de pèlerinage” cycle and his “Transcendental Études,” as well as D. Shostakovich’s “24 Preludes and Fugues” at the Montpellier Festival. The composer K. Penderecki frequently invited her to perform his piano concerto “Resurrection,” dedicated to the memory of the victims of September 11.

The pianist’s repertoire consists of more than 40 programs, and her discography features over 30 CDs, which have garnered international accolades (including the Grand Prix of the Hungarian Liszt Society, the Diapason d’Or, and recognition from BBC Music Magazine).

M. Rubackytė is a distinguished educator, a longtime professor at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, an instructor of international masterclasses, and a jury member for prestigious competitions. In 2022, she served as the jury chair for the Eurovision Young Musicians competition, and in 2024, she was the artist-in-residence at The Gilmore Foundation.

M. Rubackytė is the founder and artistic director of the biennial Vilnius Piano Festival, which launched in 2009 to staggering international success, hosting winners of prestigious competitions and world premieres. In 2017, she initiated the national “Lisztofonija” competition, encouraging pianists to deepen their understanding of Liszt. She is also the president of the Liszt association “LISZTuania” in Lithuania. Furthermore, she makes a significant contribution as an ambassador for major cultural events, including the 150th anniversary of M. K. Čiurlionis’s birth (2025), the Lithuanian Season in France (2024), the Centenary of the Restoration of the State of Lithuania (2018), and Vilnius – European Capital of Culture (2009).

The pianist is a recipient of the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts (2006) and has been awarded state orders and medals. She has been honored with the “LT Identity” (2006) and “Lithuanian Woman of the Year” (2014) titles, and she was the first to receive the Lithuanian National Philharmonic’s award—the “I Serve Music” badge of honor (2021). In 2012, she was presented with the Hungarian Ministry of Culture’s “Pro Hungarica” prize, and in 2024, she received the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary for her contributions to Hungarian culture.

In 2020, her autobiographical book “Née sous un piano” (Born Under a Piano) was published, and 2024 saw the premiere of the creative documentary “Mūza,” which was nominated in three categories at the Silver Crane (Sidabrinė gervė) film awards.

Thomas Kelly is a British pianist distinguished by his mature interpretations of Franz Liszt and Romantic piano music. He studied at the Purcell School for Young Musicians and the Royal College of Music in London. At the latter, he holds the Benjamin Britten Fellowship, one of the institution’s highest honors.

He performs actively across the United Kingdom and Europe, participating in international competitions and festivals. He became a finalist (one of three) for the 2026 International F. Liszt Piano Competition in Utrecht. The musician also reached the finals of the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2021, won second prize at the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition in 2022, and became a laureate in competitions such as the Pianale International, Kharkiv Assemblies, Lucca Virtuoso e Bel Canto, and the Theodor Leschetizky Competition. In 2024, he received the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Rose Bowl.

Simonas Miknius is a Lithuanian pianist of the younger generation and the winner of the “Lisztofonija V” competition. He began playing the piano at the age of seven. Having graduated from the J. Gruodis Conservatory in Kaunas, he is currently continuing his studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. He has performed with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra, Vytautas Magnus University Chamber Orchestra, and other ensembles. His repertoire spans Baroque, Romantic, and contemporary piano music, with a special devotion to the works of Franz Liszt.

The pianist has won second place and a special prize at the International F. Chopin Youth Competition in Poland, the Grand Prix at the “Music Without Borders” (Muzika be sienų) competition in Lithuania, third place at the César Franck International Piano Competition in Brussels, and first place at “La Note Céleste” in Paris.

VU Joint Choir – a unified ensemble composed of singers from three Vilnius University choirs (Gaudeamus, Virgo, and Pro Musica).

The VU choirs are renowned both for their individual achievements and for their collaborative programs and projects, such as CLASSICS FOR ALL (Klasika visiems), where the choirs present large-scale works alongside orchestras and soloists. All three VU choirs have earned laureate titles at numerous international competitions and are recognized among the strongest choirs in Lithuania. They participate in festivals worldwide, having performed in famous European concert halls and sung for audiences in the USA, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Japan. The VU Joint Choir performed F. Liszt’s “Via crucis” with Mūza Rubackytė in France—a concert that was met with immense success.

The VU Joint Choir is led by conductor Rasa Gelgotienė, the artistic director and chief conductor of the Vilnius University choir “Pro Musica.” Even while a student, R. Gelgotienė worked as a concertmaster at the Lithuanian State Conservatory, and later served as the choirmaster for the Lithuanian Radio and Television Children’s Choir.

She currently also directs the other two Vilnius University ensembles—the women’s choir “Virgo” and the academic choir “Gaudeamus.”

With these three choirs, R. Gelgotienė has achieved remarkable success—securing top placements in over 30 international and national competitions and participating in more than 50 international festivals. The choirs under her baton have been heard by audiences in over 25 European countries, as well as in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, and Japan.

R. Gelgotienė is also a presidium member of the Lithuanian Choral Union, a member of creative groups for the Lithuanian Song Festivals, a conductor for the World Lithuanian Song Festivals and the “Gaudeamus” Baltic Students’ Song Festivals, and a choral expert-consultant for the Alytus district.