October 17–18 brings special news to Paliesius Manor! We will host the first international piano music festival, the EuroLiszt Festival, exploring the 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 European musical history. Throughout the festival, Liszt will be revealed as a European humanist, a modernist, and a mediator of cultures. He emerges not merely as a composer or piano icon, but as a lifelong bridge between diverse 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 cultivated international projects linking Lithuania with the European musical tradition. The essential aim of her work is to build a bridge between Lithuania and Europe through the art of music.

Paliesius Manor was chosen for the festival with clear intent. In the 19th century, European musical culture flourished in salons, manors, and aristocratic spaces—not simply as a concert event, but as a social and spiritual experience. It was precisely in such settings that Liszt performed during his touring “Glanzzeit” (glanzperiod), 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, and the chamber-like appreciation of music. Through live, professional, and international artistic programming, the aim is also to reawaken manors as places of cultural heritage, restoring a tradition lost during the Soviet era.

A laureate 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 Ferenc Liszt Association “Lisztuania,” Mūza Rubackytė is one of Lithuania’s most important pianists and ambassadors of musical culture worldwide.

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” have called her “one of the greatest living Liszt players.”

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

The pianist is regularly invited to jury panels of international competitions, serves as a professor at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, teaches at universities and conservatories worldwide, and leads international masterclasses. M. Rubackytė made a significant contribution to the organization of the 2024 Lithuanian Season in France, including a memorable season prelude at Les Invalides attended by the presidents of both nations, and 12 recitals across France.

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

Among the many other honors 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, she was awarded the Lithuanian National Philharmonic’s badge of honor, “I Serve Music.” The diaspora professionals’ organization Global Lithuanian Leaders named M. Rubackytė a laureate of the Global Lithuania Awards 2024 for promoting the name of Lithuania worldwide.

M. Rubackytė has also earned significant honors abroad: in 2012, she received the Pro Cultura Hungarica prize from the Hungarian Ministry of Culture, and in 2024, 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 Ferenc 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—recipient of one of the institution’s highest awards.

He performs actively in the United Kingdom and Europe, participating in international competitions and festivals. In 2026, he became a finalist (one of three) at the International F. Liszt Piano Competition in Utrecht. The musician also reached the finals at 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 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 award.

Attila Szaniszló is a Hungarian pianist known for his mature interpretations of Ferenc Liszt’s works. Born in 2005 in Karcag (Hungary), he grew up in Romania and has been studying at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest since the age of thirteen. He is currently pursuing his bachelor’s degree in the classes of professors Kálmán Dáfai and Gábor Farkas, and has further 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 Ferenc Liszt’s First Piano Concerto. Among his most prominent achievements are the Grand Prix and first place at the International Ferenc Liszt Competition for Young Pianists (2024), first place at the Orbetello International Piano Competition (2022), the Junior Prima award (2025), and other international accolades. The artist is currently preparing for the 2026 International Ferenc 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. He graduated from the J. Gruodis Conservatory in Kaunas and 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 City Symphony Orchestra, the Vytautas Magnus University Chamber Orchestra, and other ensembles. His repertoire spans Baroque, Romantic, and contemporary piano music, with a special focus on the works of Ferenc 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 “Muzika be sienų” competition in Lithuania, third place at the César Franck International Piano Competition in Brussels, and first place at “La Note Celeste” in Paris.

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

The VU choirs are celebrated both for their individual achievements and for their collaborative programs and the CLASSICS FOR ALL projects, where the choirs present large-scale works alongside orchestras and soloists. All three VU choirs have earned laureate titles in numerous international competitions and are recognized as some of Lithuania’s strongest choral ensembles. The choirs participate in festivals worldwide, having performed in renowned European halls and sung for audiences in the US, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Japan. The joint VU choir, together with Mūza Rubackytė, performed F. Liszt’s “Via crucis” in France—a concert that was met with 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 a concertmaster at the Lithuanian State Conservatory, and later as 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 remarkable success—winning top prizes in over 30 international and national competitions and participating in more than 50 international festivals. Audiences in over 25 European countries, as well as in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, and Japan, have listened to the choirs under her baton.

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