Category: Programme

Gallery Choral Liszt The opening concert of the festival, entitled Choral Liszt, held at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Rusovce, commemorates the composer’s family ties to this village. It was in this very church that Liszt’s grandparents, Georg Adam Liszt and Barbara Schlesak, a native of Rusovce, were married on 17 January 1775.… Continue reading Choral LisztWienTet Singers, Daniel Simandl (conductor), Martin Bako (organ)

Gallery Universal Liszt The concert Universal Liszt, presented in collaboration with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra and in partnership with the Franz Liszt Festival in Raiding, Austria, serves as the ceremonial opening concert of the inaugural edition of Festival3cities. The programme presents Franz Liszt as one of the defining figures of European Romanticism – a… Continue reading Universal Liszt Vitaly Pisarenko (piano), Kateryna Titova (piano), Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Martin Haselböck (conductor)

Gallery Experiential Liszt The concert Experiential Liszt brings the festival aboard the ship Harmónia, combining a cruise on the Danube with music and gastronomy inspired by 19th-century Pressburg cuisine. Performed by Gypsy Devils, Liszt’s music meets traditional Romani music, the spirit of improvisation, and dazzling virtuoso reinterpretations of well-known classical themes. Musical inspirations from Joseph… Continue reading Experiential Liszt The Gypsy Devils

Gallery Circus Liszt Circus Liszt presents Franz Liszt as the ultimate phenomenon of the concert stage – a virtuoso, transcriber, and composer who pushed the expressive and technical possibilities of the piano to unprecedented heights. Performed by Valentina Lisitsa, one of today’s most celebrated piano virtuosos, the programme features works in which a single instrument… Continue reading Cirkus Liszt Valentina Lisitsa (piano)

Gallery Transforming Liszt Transforming Liszt presents the music of Franz Liszt in constant motion between original compositions, transcriptions, paraphrases, and contemporary creation. Brothers Eduard and Johannes Kutrowatz bring to Bratislava a unique artistic perspective deeply connected with Raiding, Liszt’s birthplace and one of the most important centres dedicated to preserving his musical legacy. As artistic… Continue reading Transforming Liszt Piano duo Kutrowatz

Gallery Liszt Connects As part of the Franz Liszt Festival, Festival3Cities, Liszt’s Dante Symphony will also be presented during the opening concerts of the Slovak Philharmonic’s 2026/2027 season. This concert brings together the rich musical heritage of Central Europe, contemporary Slovak composition, and the monumental symphonic world of Franz Liszt. Kilar’s Orawa draws inspiration from… Continue reading Liszt Connects Milan Paľa (violin), Slovak Philharmonic Choir (women’s section), Petra Torkošová (choirmaster), Slovak Philharmonic, Ondrej Olos (conductor)

Gallery Organ Liszt Organ Liszt presents Franz Liszt as one of the leading figures of the Romantic organ repertoire. Set within the historic St. Martin’s Cathedral—once the coronation church of the Kingdom of Hungary and one of Bratislava’s most significant heritage landmarks—the programme places Liszt’s music in dialogue with works by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and… Continue reading Organ Liszt Marek Vrábel (organ)

Gallery Poetic Liszt Poetic Liszt reveals the more intimate and spiritually contemplative side of Franz Liszt’s oevre as a composer whose music was profoundly shaped by literature, religious experience, visual art, and the landscapes through which he travelled. Performed by Boris Bloch, the internationally acclaimed pianist and pedagogue, the programme includes meditations from Harmonies poétiques… Continue reading Poetic Liszt Boris Bloch (piano)

Gallery Sacred Liszt Sacred Liszt turns its focus to the sacred music of Franz Liszt and to one of the deepest dimensions of his artistic legacy. The festival’s closing concert returns to St. Martin’s Cathedral, the former coronation church of the Kingdom of Hungary and one of Bratislava’s most significant historic landmarks, a place with… Continue reading Sacred Liszt Daniel Gabčo (organ), Juraj Kuchar (tenor), Ondřej Benek (tenor), Dávid Harant (bass), Slovak Philharmonic Choir (Men’s Section), Adam Sedlický (conductor)