The Piano Department of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, together with the Lithuanian Ferenc Liszt Association Lisztuania, has completed its fifth competition for Lithuanian pianists to win an individual professional recording “Lisztuania”. The event, which took place on October 16-19, 2025, in Vilnius and Paliesius Manor, once again demonstrated that Ferenc Liszt’s work is not only an interpretative challenge, but also a springboard for the mastery of the younger generation.
Lisztofonia was attended by pianists up to 30 years of age who are studying or have graduated from music high schools, conservatories, and higher education institutions in Lithuania, as well as Lithuanian citizens studying abroad. Participants competed in two groups: Group A – young pianists up to 15 years of age, and Group B – pianists aged 16 to 30. The jury was chaired by Prof. Mūza Rubackytė and included Prof. Jurgis Karnavičius, Prof. Rūta Rikterė, Doc. Aidas Puodžiukas, and Dr. Gabrielė Kondrotaitė, an expert teacher.
Lisztofonia competition is the only one in Lithuania that offers its winners a four-day program rewarding them with the experience of true professionals: from the competition and gala concert in the Grand Hall of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre to Prof. M. Rubackytė’s masterclasses, a formal concert at Paliesius Manor, and final audio-video recordings.
This year’s winners are young pianists who demonstrated outstanding and versatile mastery. In Group A, first place was shared by Aronas Ruminas and Mykolas Žilinskas, students at the M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts. In Group B, Simonas Miknius took first place, Anastasija Šumskaitė took second place, and Vasarė Vaičiulytė took third place. All of the winners in Group B are students in the class of LMTA professor Petras Geniušas. This year, the grand prize, awarded to the first-place winners in both groups, went to A. Ruminas, M. Žilinskas, and S. Miknius.
The grand prize of the competition is a professional audio and video recording, which becomes the winners’ “business card” and an opportunity to be noticed by the international music community. This year’s recordings are being created by video director Laurynas Valkiūnas and sound director Dominykas Girčius. The patron of the grand prize is Dr. Jonas Žiburkus (in memoriam), and the sponsor is the Saulius Karosas Charity and Support Foundation.
Participants were also given significant concert opportunities and monetary awards. S. Miknius was invited to give a recital at the F. Liszt Festival in Gödöllő (Hungary) in 2026. The LMTA Art Center Prize – a double recital at the Vilnius Picture Gallery next year – was awarded to A. Ruminas and M. Žilinskas. The Organum Piano Salon Prize – a triple recital at the Organum Hall for all Group B winners.
The Three Muses Award was also presented to the winners of Group B, and a special competition prize sponsored by medical professor Dr. Julius Ptašek was awarded to Meda Siliūtė, a student at the Juozas Naujalis Music Gymnasium in Kaunas.
© Monika Matilda Andrulytė / LMTA archive
This year’s Lisztofonia competition was special in its context – the competition and gala concert held on October 16 in the Grand Hall of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre were linked to the international congress “M. K. Čiurlionis 150: Reflections and Interpretations,” which brought together researchers from various countries to examine the connections between Čiurlionis’ work and Liszt’s ideas. The concert program symbolically featured Čiurlionis and Liszt: the first part featured jury members Prof. Mūza Rubackytė, Prof. Jurgis Karnavičius, and competition curator, pianist Eglė Andrejevaitė, while the second part featured Liszt’s works performed by the first-place winners in categories A and B.
The competition is steadily expanding internationally. On April 11, 2024, in Vilnius, Professor M. Rubackytė, president of Lisztuania, was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit for her consistent work in promoting Ferenc Liszt, the activities of the association, and the organization of Lisztofonija. In the same year, a cooperation agreement was signed between Lisztuania and the F. Liszt Festival in Gödöllő.
“Liszt is a European composer whose work and ideas are significant for European culture as a whole, so this partnership opens up new stages and professional opportunities for Lithuanian pianists,” says competition patron Prof. Mūza Rubackytė, who founded Lisztuania in 2009 and has been consistently promoting the Liszt tradition in Lithuania.
We sincerely thank the sponsors and prize donors of the 5th Lisztofonia Competition
Paliesius Manor, the Saulius Karosas Charity and Support Foundation, the F. Liszt Festival in Gödöllő (Hungary) and its Artistic Director Dr. Alex Szilasi, the Embassy of Hungary in Lithuania, the LMTA Arts Centre, the ORGANUM Piano Salon, Prof. Dr. Julius Ptašekas, Prof. Mūza Rubackytė-Golay and Prof. Alain Golay, as well as Rasa Žiburkutė and Eglė Adomaitė-Žiburkus.
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