Hossein Pishkar, a conductor of Iranian origin who was sincerely loved by audiences and performers alike last year, returns to the Pažaislis Music Festival. Educated in his homeland and Germany, the artist, who currently resides in Italy, speaks of his love for music as follows: “Sometimes love strikes at first sight. That’s what happened to me – I simply heard music and devoted my whole life to it. I don’t know what it is. It’s what I am. I believe that music should be a part of everyone’s life.”

Another guest at this concert, who will give listeners a unique opportunity to enjoy a rarely heard voice, is the incredibly talented countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen from the USA. With his “wonderfully beautiful,” “golden” (The Guardian) voice, he performs a wide repertoire ranging from Baroque to contemporary music. The New York Times calls him a “young star” and “a consummate artist,” while the San Francisco Chronicle calls him “extravagantly talented (…) ready to show the possibilities of singers with such a unique voice type.” The singer won a Grammy Award for Best Classical Album in 2019 and won the grand prize at the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition in 2017. He won the grand prize at the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, the top prizes at the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition and the Dallas Opera Guild Competition, and in 2024, he won the Grand Prix at the Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition.

This talented duo of artists is ready to give listeners an extraordinary experience. Their interpretations of arias by Johann Sebastian Bach, Georgo Friedrich Händel, Antonio Vivaldi, and Francesco Cavalli, performed together with the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra, will transport everyone to the fantastically ornate world of Baroque music, while vocal miniatures by Samuel Barber and Maurice Ravel will immerse listeners in the deepest depths of harmony. The program will be framed by two instrumental works: Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s romantic Symphony No. 12 for strings and “Sinfonietta” for strings by Albert Roussel, one of the most important French composers of the interwar period.