Vestards Šimkus (piano)
Prizewinner of the 2026 International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition

Symphony Orchestra of the Artur Malawski Podkarpackie Philharmonic in Rzeszów (Poland)
Conductor Norbert Tworzyński (Poland)

Programme:
Franz Liszt (1811–1886) Piano Concerto No. 3
Henryk Wieniawski (1835–1880) Violin Concerto No. 2
Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) Symphony No. 7

The opening concert of the 35th Liepāja International Stars Festival brings together works that explore a recurring question in Romantic music: the relationship between the individual and the collective. Some composers place the soloist’s voice in the foreground, others seek a balance between soloist and orchestra, while still others entrust the narrative to the orchestra itself.

The festival’s opening concert presents this idea in three distinct ways—from Liszt’s rarely performed piano concerto to Wieniawski’s lyrical violin writing and Dvořák’s symphonic thinking.

In Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 3, virtuosity is combined with a freely unfolding musical form. This makes the work particularly well suited to Vestards Šimkus’s distinctive artistry, which audiences will have the opportunity to experience at the festival’s opening concert.

The concert will feature the Symphony Orchestra of the Artur Malawski Podkarpackie Philharmonic in Rzeszów, conducted by Norbert Tworzyński. The participation of a prizewinner of the 2026 International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition gives the programme a direct connection to Wieniawski’s legacy and to the Polish musical tradition.