April 30, 2026, 7:00 PM St. Catherine’s Church, Vilnius
On April 30, audiences at St. Catherine’s Church are invited to a special evening dedicated to violin music, marking the 20th anniversary of Professor Rūta Lipinaitytė’s pedagogical career. We warmly invite you to the concert Musical Bridges, where the musical paths of teacher and students come together, Lithuanian and Ukrainian traditions meet, and classical music intertwines with contemporary creativity.
This concert will bring together talented pupils and students of Professor Lipinaitytė — winners of international competitions and outstanding young violinists of the new generation — united by a shared musical journey. Professor Rūta Lipinaitytė herself will also perform as a violinist during the concert.
The programme reflects what has become an inseparable part of Rūta Lipinaitytė’s artistic work over the years: a strong emphasis on Lithuanian music and a deep attention to contemporary Ukrainian musical culture. Alongside three widely recognized, captivating, brilliant, and virtuosic works by Gershwin, Saint-Saëns, and Ravel, the concert will feature a concerto by Vidmantas Bartulis, performed by the professor together with her student Saulė Buikaitė and pianist Eglė Kižytė-Ramonienė.
The evening will also include a Lithuanian premiere: a new work by Rapolas Venckus, composed especially for this concert for four violins and string orchestra. The young composer and violinist, also a student of R. Lipinaitytė’s class, will perform the piece together with his colleagues. The programme will further feature Ukrainian Carnival by Ukrainian composer Taras Zdaniuk, whose title and musical language vividly testify to the living Ukrainian tradition.
Together with the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra (conductor Modestas Barkauskas), the performers will include violinists Saulė Buikaitė, Dovydas Čiplys, Vaiga Dainavičiūtė, Aleksas Filipenkovas, Ugnė Krikščiūnaitė, Kristijonas Pūtys, Monika Sapiegaitė, Rapolas Venckus, Timur Ernest Vilcans, and pianist Eglė Kižytė-Ramonienė.
This evening is a celebration of music, of the bond between teacher and students, and of tradition meeting contemporary creativity — an invitation to immerse yourself in an emotionally rich, stylistically diverse programme where experience meets youthful energy.
Programme
Rapolas Venckus (b. 2005)
Work for Four Violins and Strings – PREMIERE
Performed by Aleksas Filipenkovas, Rapolas Venckus, Timur Ernest Vilcans, Ugnė Krikščiūnaitė
Vidmantas Bartulis (1954–2020)
Concerto for Two Violins, Piano, and String Orchestra
Performed by Rūta Lipinaitytė (violin), Saulė Buikaitė (violin), Eglė Kižytė-Ramonienė (piano)
George Gershwin (1898–1937) – Igor Frolov (1937–2013)
Concert Fantasy on Themes from the Opera “Porgy and Bess”, Op. 19
(arr. by R. Abyazov for violin, strings, and piano)
Performed by Vaiga Dainavičiūtė (violin)
Taras Zdaniuk (b. 1999)
Ukrainian Carnival for violin and piano
(arr. by V. Makrickienė for violin and strings)
Performed by Monika Sapiegaitė (violin)
Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)
Concert Rhapsody “Tzigane”, Op. 76
(arr. by R. Abyazov for violin, strings, and piano)
Performed by Dovydas Čiplys (violin)
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) – Eugène Ysaÿe (1858–1931)
Caprice d’après l’Étude en forme de valse (“Étude in Waltz Form”)
for violin and strings, Op. 52
Performed by Kristijonas Pūtys (violin)
St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Modestas Barkauskas
Violinists: Rūta Lipinaitytė, Saulė Buikaitė, Dovydas Čiplys, Vaiga Dainavičiūtė, Aleksas Filipenkovas, Ugnė Krikščiūnaitė, Kristijonas Pūtys, Monika Sapiegaitė, Rapolas Venckus, Timur Ernest Vilcans
Eglė Kižytė-Ramonienė (piano)
