The Sixth International Classical Music Festival

From September 4 to 24, the international classical music festival "Culture Days" will resound in Marijampolė and the Sūduva region for the sixth time. This year's program invites audiences to experience music as a living encounter between different artistic languages: from monumental symphonic sound to contemporary music theater, from circus and fine arts to dance.

The "Culture Days" festival consistently strengthens the accessibility of high culture in the region, brings together the local community, and creates a space for encounters with prominent Lithuanian and foreign performers. This year, festival concerts will take place not only in Marijampolė but will also reach Vilkaviškis for the first time, while the program will be complemented by events for families, contemporary art experiences, and a creative platform for young performers.

The program of "Culture Days 2026" marks the ambitious growth of the festival: classical music here is not limited to the concert hall - it becomes an experience of image, movement, theater, education, and fellowship. Festival events will invite long-time listeners of professional music, families, youth, and those for whom this will be their first encounter with the world of classical music.

Festival Program

All events are free!

September 4 at 18:30 – "Ode to Joy"

Marijampolė St. Archangel Michael Basilica

The festival will open with a ceremonial performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony - a work whose finale, "Ode to Joy," has become a universal symbol of human fellowship, freedom, and hope. Performing in Marijampolė for the first time will be the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra from Latvia, joined by the Lithuanian State Choir "Vilnius," with soloists Karolina Glinskaitė (soprano), Nora Petročenko (mezzo-soprano), Egidijus Bavikinas (tenor), and Liudas Mikalauskas (bass) stepping up to the podium of conductor Marius Reklaitis.

A performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony of this scale in Marijampolė will become a significant cultural event - an exceptional opportunity for the regional audience to hear live one of the most important opuses in Western musical history, whose powerful musical architecture and human message lose none of their relevance today.

September 11 at 18:00 – "Carnival of the Animals"

Marijampolė Drama Theater

The festival moves to the Marijampolė Drama Theater for the first time, inviting the whole family to a colorful, playful evening full of surprises. Camille Saint-Saëns' "Carnival of the Animals" will be performed by the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Marius Reklaitis, with pianists Kamilė Zaveckaitė and Julija Bagdonavičiūtė taking the solo piano positions.

The musical animal kingdom on stage will be expanded by circus artists Lukas Dirsė and Kasparas Bujanauskas - the movement and visual imagination they create will allow the music to acquire another dimension, one particularly close to children. This concert is the festival's invitation to cultivate a curious, open, and creative young listener from their very first encounters with professional art.

September 12 at 18:00 – "Sarabande"

Marijampolė Culture Center Small Hall

Fans of contemporary music can look forward to "Sarabande" - an organized sound and image lecture that expands the boundaries of a conventional concert. It will bring together the sonic space created by composer Dominikas Digimas, the interpretation of performer Laura Kmeliauskaitė, and the textual dramaturgy of libretto author Remigijus Ribačiauskas.

"Sarabande" will invite listeners to listen not only to music, but also to silence, movement, image, and layers of meaning. This is an experience that reveals the festival's ambition to present contemporary art as a living, relevant, and accessible dialogue with today's person.

September 13 at 18:00 – "The New Baltic Sound Quartet"

Vilkaviškis Culture Center

The festival continues its tradition of traveling around the Sūduva region and this time heads to the Vilkaviškis Culture Center. Performing here will be the international ensemble "The New Baltic Sound Quartet," bringing together cellist Gleb Pyšniak and percussionists Pāvels Giunters and Guntars Freibergs from Latvia.

The collective's musical language stands out for its unexpected timbre combinations, rhythmic energy, and broad stylistic amplitude. In their program, classical music tradition meets contemporary sound exploration, and the musical sensitivity and folk motifs of the Baltic region meet improvisational performance freedom.

September 18 at 18:00 – "Evening with Piazzolla"

Marijampolė St. Cecilia Gymnasium

The music of Argentine tango revolutionary Astor Piazzolla will be performed by an ensemble of unusual composition. On stage will be trombonist Martyna Mišeikytė, accordionist Eglė Bartkevičiūtė, pianist Kamilė Zaveckaitė, classical guitar performer Rokas Jurkus, and percussionist Rokas Generauskas.

This evening will reveal the dramatic quality, melancholy, and unbridled rhythmic life of Piazzolla's music. A special color will be given to the program by the trombone - an instrument rarely heard in a solo role in the Sūduva region, whose expressive capabilities will be revealed anew and persuasively in this ensemble.

September 24 at 6:00 PM – "Danza Sinfonica"

Marijampolė Culture Center

The festival will close with "Danza Sinfonica" - an evening of symphonic music, dance, and the creative energy of the younger generation of artists. Performing on stage will be the Sūduva Youth Symphony Orchestra, celebrating its fifth anniversary, traditionally conducted by the orchestra's founder and artistic director Marius Reklaitis.

This time, young musicians will share the stage with modern dance students from the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art. Symphonic sound and dance plastics will merge into a dynamic, festive finale, a true youthful fiesta proving that classical music can be a space for both powerful collaborative creation and free movement.

The festival program will also be complemented by a personal painting exhibition by artist Kazimieras Butrinavičius at the Marijampolė Culture Center. Last year, the artist became a laureate of the national competition for amateur and professional painters "Inspired by Čiurlionis." The painting exhibition will extend the festival's dialogue between music and visual art.

The international classical music festival "Culture Days 2026" is a consistent cultural initiative that strengthens the creative vitality of the region, opens professional art experiences to various audiences, and builds long-term connections between national, international, and Sūduva region artists.

The festival is organized by VšĮ Marijampolės filharmonija.
The project is partially funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and the Municipality of Marijampolė.