The contemporary music festival “Iš Arti” is a unique artistic platform, organized since 1997, dedicated to the latest, experimental, avant-garde, and modern classical music expressions in the city of Kaunas. The festival aims to serve as a bridge between contemporary creation and an ever-widening audience, encouraging bold sonic experimentation and fostering dialogue between diverse musical traditions and new artistic practices.
This November, from the 10th to the 21st, the contemporary music festival “Iš Arti”, in collaboration with professional artists and partners – Kaunas State Philharmonic, Kaunas Chamber Theatre, and Ąžuolynas Library – will present six concerts. The full festival programme will be announced soon.
The idea of the festival was born out of the need to create a space where contemporary music is not only presented but also contextualized – as a living, dynamic, and evolving art form, closely connected to current cultural and social trends. From the very beginning, the festival has focused not only on concert activity but also on networking, the promotion of national creativity, and international collaboration.
Over nearly three decades, in collaboration with professional performers from Lithuania and abroad, the festival has presented more than 150 stage art premieres. These include works by composers such as V. Bartulis, A. Šenderovas, R. Motiekaitis, J. Jurkūnas, A. Jasenka, N. Valančiūtė, D. Kairaitytė, M. Bialobžeskis, G. Kuprevičius, B. Kutavičius, P. Vasks, T. Makačinas, A. Curran, J. Mieželytė, A. Adler, B. Franke, Z. Bružaitė, R. Mažulis, T. Khaldei, R. Vitkauskaitė, R. Sauter, A. F. Muller, J. Dunn, J. Aglinskas, and many others.
The festival is funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture.
Main partner: Kaunas State Philharmonic.
Partners: Kaunas Chamber Theatre, Ąžuolynas Library.
The initiator and originator of the “Iš Arti” contemporary music festival is composer Dalia Kairaitytė. The public institution “Iš Arti” was founded in 2009 by Zita Bružaitė, chair of the Kaunas branch of the Lithuanian Composers’ Union, together with local composers and musicians.
