Public Events at the Presidential Palace

Lecture-concert “History of Old Vilnius” given at the Presidential Palace

Sunday, April 25, Vilnius - A lecture-concert entitled "History of Old Vilnius" was presented Sunday afternoon in the Column Hall of the Presidential Palace.

Jonas Satkūnas, Doctor of Natural Sciences, spoke about the specific landscape features that influenced the siting of Vilnius castles and the rise of the city in this area.

Dr. Rūta Guzevičiūtė, a specialist in European costume history, focused the style of clothes worn in the times of the Great Duchy of Lithuania: how it was developed and shaped by Lithuania's location at the crossroads of East and West.

Art critic Audronė Kasperavičienė, Director of the State Cultural Reserve of Vilnius Castles, presented the historical, spiritual and cultural aspects of the reserve and introduced its annual publication series titled "Lithuanian Castles".

The program included pieces of secular Renaissance and Baroque music provided by young musicians of Balys Dvarionas School of Music - early music group "Lirum", under the leadership of professor Auksė Stankevičienė. Vocal and instrumental works by 16-17th century Italian, French, German, and British composers and unknown authors, performed to the old European and Lithuanian nobility, were presented. Medieval dresses and gowns, made according to authentic pictures, reinforced the general mood of those times.