French National Youth Symphony Orchestra debuts in the Baltic states

The VI Klaipėda Festival, held in honor of the 250th anniversary of Queen Louise, featured a landmark performance by the French National Youth Symphony Orchestra (Orchestre Français des Jeunes). This marked the first time the ensemble has performed in Lithuania or the Baltic states.

Led by Estonian conductor Kristiina Poska, the orchestra of musicians aged 16 to 24 performed works by Richard Strauss, including ‘Also sprach Zarathustra’, and Maurice Ravel, including ‘Daphnis et Chloé’ and ‘Boléro’. The performance was noted for its technical challenges, such as the use of eight horn players to achieve a rich sound for Strauss’s score.

The festival is scheduled to conclude on September 5 with a performance of Karl Jenkins’ ‘Symphonic Adiemus’ at Klaipėda University.