Marijampolė launches the sixth international classical music festival, ‘Culture Days 2026’

Marijampolė’s sixth international classical music festival is expanding beyond the concert hall and beyond the city itself. ‘Culture Days 2026’ will run from September 4 to 24 in Marijampolė and the Suvalkija region, with events reaching Vilkaviškis for the first time.

The festival will open on September 4 at St. Michael the Archangel Basilica with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The Liepāja Symphony Orchestra from Latvia will perform with the Lithuanian State Choir Vilnius under conductor Marius Reklaitis. The soloists will be Karolina Glinskaitė, Nora Petročenko, Egidijus Bavikinas and Liudas Mikalauskas.

The program presents the symphony’s final movement, ‘Ode to Joy’, as a symbol of human solidarity, freedom and hope. Organizers describe the performance as an important cultural event for Marijampolė and a rare opportunity for regional audiences to hear one of Western music’s major works live.

A family performance of Camille Saint-Saëns’s ‘Carnival of the Animals’ will follow on September 11 at the Marijampolė Drama Theatre. The Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, two pianists and circus performers Lukas Dirsė and Kasparas Bujanauskas will combine music with movement and visual elements. On September 12, the festival will present ‘Sarabande’, a contemporary sound-and-video lecture involving composer Dominykas Digimas, performer Lora Kmieliauskaitė and librettist Rimantas Ribačiauskas. The wider program also includes music theatre, visual art, dance and educational events.