On 27 March, at 7pm, the orchestral music concert at the National Philharmonic Hall will sparkle with the passion for music. The stage will be shared by conductor Kaspar Zehnder, who appears regularly at major European venues and international festivals, and cellist Mindaugas Bačkus, who is regarded as one of the most distinguished Lithuanian cellists today.

Swiss flutist and conductor Kaspar Zehnder (b. 1970) is currently the artistic director of the Murten Classics Festival, the music director at the Zentrum Paul Klee in Berne and the director of the Ensemble Paul Klee – a free association of outstanding musicians, whose programming revolves around Paul Klee, his life and work, in the broadest sense. As a conductor and a soloist he has a particular affinity for 20th century music and music drama. Born in Riggisberg (Switzerland) and having completed his studies of classical languages at the Lyceum in Berne and his musical studies (flute and conducting) at the Berne Academy of Arts he pursued further studies at the European Mozart Academy in Paris (among his main tutors was Aurèle Nicolet, one of the most famed contemporary flutists) and at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy. Between 1997 and 2006, he accumulated his conducting experience by working with Swiss chamber orchestras and the Orchestra of the Berne Academy of Arts. Until 2008, he was the chief conductor of the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and presently continues his collaboration as a guest conductor. After his remarkable debut at Milan’s La Scala in October 2007, he received offers from the Orchestre National de Montpellier, the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National d´Ile de France, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Brno Philharmonic and many more. Today he cooperates with various European orchestras and with a number of celebrated soloists including pianist Brigitte Engerer, string players Natalia Gutman, Sergej Katchatryan, Isabelle van Keulen, Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Antoine Tamestit, singers Magdalena Kožená and Marianne Pousseur. After his debut concert at the head of the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO), he will go on tour with the English Chamber Orchestra in Spain and will conclude the season with a chamber opera La tragédie de Carmen (by Marius Constant / Peter Brook(, dedicated to the 5th anniversary of the Zentrum Paul Klee.

Zehnder’s debut with the LNSO will feature Czech and English music, including the Symphonic Variations on an original theme by Antonin Dvořák, Concerto No.1 for cello and orchestra by Bohuslav Martinů and the Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar. The selection of works for the programme looks promising indeed, especially given the fact that Zehnder has an in-depth appreciation and knowledge of the musical language of the Czech composers as well as the broad Czech cultural context contained therein. And it seems not accidental that cellist Mindaugas Bačkus was invited to perform Bohuslav Martinů’s First Cello Concerto. This composition by the leading Czech composer of the 20th century is one of the finest examples of his original style based on the old music and the neo-classical trend that springs from it. The expressive soloist is well known for his understanding of different styles and distinguished individual manner of music interpretation.

The remarkable versatility of cellist Mindaugas Bačkus (b. 1973) is evidenced by his nimbleness in the repertoire of different epochs, as well as an intense search for new possibilities of expression through research of the 20th–21st century scores, participation in jazz projects and playing a Baroque cello. Contemporary and old music is often combined in his performances as recitalist and soloist with various ensembles and orchestras (he has given recitals and chamber music concerts in Lithuania, England, Scotland, Germany, Sweden, Poland, USA, Norway and France) and in the repertoire of the orchestra he heads (in the summer 2009, Bačkus was appointed Artistic Director of the Klaipėda Chamber Orchestra). The interaction of different performance methods and styles add a vivid colouring to Bačkus’ manner of interpretation, manifesting itself through the bold flight of imagination, suggestive intonation, rich timbre and subtle sense of style.