October 17–18 at Paliesius Manor brings a truly special announcement! We will be hosting the first international piano music festival, the EuroLiszt Festival, with this year’s theme: “Gypsy or Franciscan.” The festival’s artistic director is Mūza Rubackytė.
The festival is dedicated to Ferenc Liszt—one of the most brilliant creators and personalities in the history of European music. 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 visionary who spent his life uniting distinct 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 curated international projects connecting Lithuania to the broader 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 this festival with distinct purpose. In the 19th century, European musical culture thrived within salons, manors, and aristocratic spaces—unfolding not simply as a public performance, but as a deeply social and spiritual experience. It was precisely in such environments that Liszt performed during the “Glanzperiode” of his grand tours, playing for monarchs, high society, and the intellectual centers of Europe. Paliesius Manor allows us to revive this cherished tradition: the close bond between performer and listener, the intimacy of the gathering, and the refined appreciation of chamber music. Concurrently, through vibrant, professional, and international artistic programming, the festival seeks to reawaken manors as living sites of cultural heritage, restoring a tradition that was lost during the Soviet era.
Read more: 10.17 / 10.18 | EuroLiszt Festival | “Gypsy or Franciscan”