Franz Schubert - An die Musik, Am Meer

Giacomo Puccini - Menuetto No. 1 "Moderato" for string quartet

Edvard Grieg - "I love you" ("Jeg elsker dig"), Op. 5 No. 3 from the cycle "Melodies of the Heart" ("Hjertets melodier");

"The Time of the Rose" ("Zur Rosenzeit"), Op. 48 No. 5

Giacomo Puccini - "Chrysantemums" for string quartet

Franz Schubert - "Seligkeit", "Serenade" ("Ständchen")

Ottorino Respighi. - "Sunset" ("Il Tramonto") for string quartet and mezzo-soprano

Giacomo Puccini - Minuet No. 2 "Allegretto" for string quartet

Ottorino Respighi - "Invitation to the Dance" ("Invito alla danza")

Every human being longs for Love, for harmony with Nature. Love gives fullness, happiness, fulfils the desires of the senses, satiates the depths of the soul, teaches one to be better, but... Love does not always have a happy ending, because where there is love, there is often suffering and disappointment. It is not for nothing that poets, writers, painters, and musicians express in their works a whole palette of strong, mixed feelings: bliss, admiration, wonder, sadness, romance, suffering, death, and loss.

A whole bouquet of similar experiences will be reflected in the programme of this evening, which will be performed by the Kaunas String Quartet with the soloist Vilija Mikštaite. The concert will be centred on Ottorino Respighi's Il Tramonto (The Twilight), a work for string quartet and voice based on Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem about the death of a young man, which has been described as a beautiful, romantic event, while at the same time describing the anguish of a woman's moaning and suffering as she hopes to find peace in her death. The composer has skilfully adapted the music to the words, the harmonies reflect the beauty of nature, and the beautifully textured composition not only evokes the poem's scenes, but also powerfully expresses the feelings of the two characters.

The audience will also hear some of the most melodious songs by Franz Schubert and Edvard Grieg, with interludes featuring rarely performed minuets and "Chrysanthemums" by one of the great Italian opera composers, Giacomo Puccini.

Fans of the Kaunas String Quartet, which is now in its fifth decade of activity, have no doubt that every programme prepared by the ensemble will offer new gems of chamber music. The ensemble has already given over two thousand concerts in various Lithuanian and foreign venues, released several CDs, and won several prestigious awards. Mezzo-soprano V. Mikštaitė is praised for her extraordinary voice and charisma. She has performed roles at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, in project productions, and has also made a name for herself as a singer abroad.