The “Culture Days” festival consistently strengthens access to high culture in the region, unites the local community, and creates a space for meeting prominent Lithuanian and foreign performers. This year, the festival concerts will take place not only in Marijampolė but will also reach Vilkaviškis for the first time, with the program supplemented by family events, contemporary art experiences, and a creative platform for young performers.
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The “Culture Days 2026” program marks an ambitious growth of the festival: classical music here is not limited to the concert hall – it becomes an experience of visuals, movement, theater, education, and community. The festival events will invite both long-time professional music listeners and families, youth, and those for whom this will be the first encounter with the world of classical music.
Festival Program
All events are free.
September 4th, 6:30 PM – “Ode to Joy”
Marijampolė St. Michael the Archangel Basilica
The festival will open with a solemn performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony – a work whose finale “Ode to Joy” has become a universal symbol of human unity, freedom, and hope. For the first time in Marijampolė, the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra from Latvia will perform, joined by the Lithuanian State Choir “Vilnius,” and soloists Karolina Glinskaitė (soprano), Nora Petročenko (mezzo-soprano), Egidijus Bavikinas (tenor), and Liudas Mikalauskas (bass) will take the stage under conductor Marius Reklaitis.
A performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on this scale in Marijampolė will be a significant cultural event – a unique opportunity for the regional audience to hear live one of the most important works in Western music history, whose powerful musical architecture and human message remain relevant to this day.
September 11th, 6 PM – “Carnival of the Animals”
Marijampolė Drama Theatre
The festival moves to the Marijampolė Drama Theatre for the first time and invites the whole family to a colorful, playful, and surprise-filled evening. 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 sharing the solo piano parts.
The musical animal kingdom on stage will be expanded by circus artists Lukas Dirsė and Kasparas Bujanauskas – their created movement and visual imagination will give the music another dimension, especially close to children. This concert is the festival’s invitation to nurture a curious, open, and creative young listener from the first encounters with professional art.
September 12th, 6 PM – “Sarabande”
Marijampolė Culture Center Small Hall
Contemporary music enthusiasts will look forward to “Sarabande” – an organized sound and video lecture that expands the boundaries of a traditional concert. It will bring together the sound space created by composer Domininkas Digimas, the interpretation by performer Laura Kmeliauskaitė, and the textual dramaturgy by librettist Remigijus Ribačiauskas.
“Sarabande” invites listening not only to music but also to silence, movement, visuals, and layers of meaning. It is an experience that reveals the festival’s aim to present contemporary art as a living, relevant, and accessible dialogue with today’s person.
September 13th, 6 PM – “The New Baltic Sound Quartet”
Vilkaviškis Culture Center
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The festival continues the tradition of traveling around the Suduva region and this time goes to the Vilkaviškis Culture Center. Here, the international ensemble “The New Baltic Sound Quartet” will perform, uniting cellist Gleb Pyšniak and percussionists Pavel Giunter and Guntars Freibergs from Latvia.
The ensemble’s musical language stands out with unexpected timbral combinations, rhythmic energy, and a wide stylistic range. Their program blends classical music tradition with contemporary sound explorations, and the musical sensitivity of the Baltic region and folk motifs with the freedom of improvisational performance.
September 18th, 6 PM – “An 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 meet trombonist Martyna Mišeikytė, accordionist Eglė Bartkevičiūtė, pianist Kamilė Zaveckaitė, classical guitar player Rokas Jurkus, and percussionist Rokas Generauskas.
This evening will reveal the dramatic nature, melancholy, and unrestrained rhythmic vitality of Piazzolla’s music. The trombone will add a special color to the program – an instrument rarely heard in a solo role in the Suduva region, whose expressive possibilities will be revealed anew and impressively in this ensemble.
September 24th, 6 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 young generation of artists. The Suduva Youth Symphony Orchestra, celebrating its fifth anniversary, will perform, traditionally conducted by the orchestra’s founder and artistic director Marius Reklaitis.
This time, the young musicians will share the stage with modern dance students from the M.K. Čiurlionis National School of Arts. The symphonic sound and dance plasticity will merge into a dynamic, festive finale, a true youthful fiesta proving that classical music can be both a powerful space for joint 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 amateur and professional painters’ competition “Inspired by Čiurlionis.” The painting exhibition will continue 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 creates long-term connections between national, international, and Suduva region artists.
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