EuroLiszt Festival | “Gypsy or Franciscan?”

October 17–18 brings special news to Paliesius Manor! We will host the first international piano music festival, the EuroLiszt Festival, this time exploring the theme: “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 festival, Liszt will be revealed as a European humanist, a modernist, and a mediator of cultures—not merely a composer or an icon of pianism, but a figure who, throughout his life, united different cultures, nations, artistic movements, and spiritual ideas.

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

Paliesius Manor was chosen for the festival by no mere chance. In the 19th century, European musical culture lived within salons, manors, and aristocratic spaces, serving not only as a concert act but as a social and spiritual experience. It was in just such an environment that Liszt performed during the “glanzperiode” of his tours, playing for monarchs, high society, and the intellectual centers of Europe. Paliesius Manor allows us to revive this tradition—the close relationship between performer and listener, the intimacy of listening, the chamber perception of music. At the same time, through live, professional, and international artistic content, the aim is to breathe life back into manors as places of cultural heritage, a tradition that was lost during the Soviet era.

Winner of the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts, founder and artistic director of the Vilnius Piano Music Festival and the EuroLiszt Festival at Paliesius Manor, and president of the Lithuanian Franz Liszt Association “Lisztuania,” Mūza Rubackytė is one of Lithuania’s most important pianists and an ambassador of its musical culture to the world.

In 1981, M. Rubackytė won the International Liszt-Bartók Piano Competition in Budapest. Interpretations of F. Liszt’s works hold a special place in her repertoire; critics from the US publication “Fanfare” called her “one of the greatest living Liszt players.”

M. Rubackytė’s discography includes over 40 albums, a unique collaboration with the Doron label, and the release of “Great Lithuanian Live Recordings,” a six-CD series of orchestral concerts. In recent years, the artist’s attention was drawn to the work of the renowned pianist and Litvak born in Žasliai, Leopold Godowsky: her two recorded Godowsky CDs (solo and with violin) earned the highest praise from global music critics. M. Rubackytė’s latest and 44th release is an album dedicated to the works of Polish composer Krzystof Penderecki, with whom the pianist shared a creative friendship.

The pianist is continually invited to the juries of international competitions, serves as a professor at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, teaches at universities and conservatories around the world, and leads international masterclasses. M. Rubackytė made a substantial contribution to organizing the 2024 Lithuanian Season in France, highlighted by a memorable season prelude at Les Invalides attended by the presidents of both nations, and 12 recitals throughout France.

In 2020, the French publishing house Ovadia released her autobiographical book “Gimusi po fortepijonu” (Born Under the Piano), which was published in Lithuanian by Tyto alba in 2022. In 2024, the documentary film “MŪZA” (dir. A. Marcinkevičiūtė) about the pianist traveled to cinemas across several continents and was nominated for the Silver Crane award in three categories.

Among the many other accolades awarded to the pianist are the Medal of Honor “For Merits to Lithuanian Culture,” the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, the Grand Cross of Commander, the Government Culture and Art Prize, the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts, and the St. Christopher Statue. In 2021, the pianist was honored with the Lithuanian National Philharmonic’s badge of honor, “Tarnauju muzikai” (I Serve Music). The diaspora professionals’ organization Global Lithuanian Leaders named M. Rubackytė a laureate of the Global Lithuania Awards 2024 for promoting Lithuania’s name around the world.

M. Rubackytė has earned significant awards not only in Lithuania but also abroad: in 2012, she was awarded the Hungarian Ministry of Culture’s Pro Cultura Hungarica prize, and in 2024, she received the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary for her contributions to Hungarian culture.

Thomas Kelly is a British pianist distinguished by his mature interpretation 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 is a Benjamin Britten Fellow—a laureate of one of the institution’s highest honors.

He actively performs in the United Kingdom and Europe, participating in international competitions and festivals. In 2026, he became a finalist (one of three) at the International Franz 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 Competition in 2022, and became a laureate of competitions such as 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.

Attila Szaniszló is a Hungarian pianist distinguished by his mature interpretations of Franz Liszt’s works. Born in 2005 in Karcag (Hungary), he grew up in Romania, and has been studying at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest since the age of thirteen. He is currently continuing his bachelor’s studies in the classes of professors Kálmán Dáfai and Gábor Farkas, and has also honed his skills in masterclasses with Yoheved Kaplinsky and William Grant Naboré.

The pianist actively performs in Hungary and abroad, participating in international festivals and competitions. In 2026, he won the Young Artists Concerto Competition at the PianoTexas International Festival & Academy and performed with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, playing Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Among his most prominent achievements are the Grand Prix and first place at the International Franz Liszt Competition for Young Pianists (2024), first place at the Orbetello International Piano Competition (2022), the Junior Prima Prize (2025), and other international awards. The artist is currently preparing for the 2026 International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Budapest.

Simonas Miknius is a young-generation Lithuanian pianist and the winner of the “Lisztofonija V” competition. He began playing the piano at the age of seven. Having graduated from the Kaunas J. Gruodis Conservatory, he is continuing his studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. He has performed with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra, the Kaunas Symphony Orchestra, the Vytautas Magnus University Chamber Orchestra, and other ensembles. His repertoire encompasses Baroque, Romantic, and contemporary piano music, with a special focus on 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” competition in Lithuania, third place at the César Franck Competition in Brussels, and first place at “La Note Celeste” in Paris.

VU Joint Choir is a combined choir composed of singers from three Vilnius University (VU) choirs (Gaudeamus, Virgo, and Pro musica).

The VU choirs are renowned both for their individual achievements and for their joint programs and KLASIKA VISIEMS (Classics for All) projects, where the choirs present large-scale works with orchestras and soloists. All three VU choirs have earned laureate titles in numerous international competitions and are recognized as some of the strongest choirs in Lithuania. The choirs participate in festivals around the world, perform in famous European concert halls, and have 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 enjoyed immense success.

The VU Joint Choir is led by conductor Rasa Gelgotienė, artistic director and chief conductor of the Vilnius University choir Pro musica. While still a student, R. Gelgotienė worked as an accompanist at the Lithuanian State Conservatory, and later as the choirmaster of the Lithuanian Radio and Television Children’s Choir.

Currently, she also directs the other two Vilnius University choirs—the girls’ choir Virgo and the academic choir Gaudeamus.

With these three choirs, R. Gelgotienė has achieved great success—winning prize places in more than 30 international and national competitions and participating in over 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 member of the presidium of the Lithuanian Choral Union, a member of the creative groups for the Song Festivals, a conductor for the World Lithuanian Song Festivals and the Baltic students’ festivals “Gaudeamus,” and an expert-consultant for choirs in the Alytus county.