Festive Concert: A Dream of Buenos Aires

A musical journey to Buenos Aires, a city where dreams, nostalgia and the undying energy of tango meet.

“The dramatic thread of this concert is a dream of Buenos Aires. We begin the evening’s journey with Eduardo Balsys’s *Habaneras* from the film *Adomas nori būti žmogumi*, based on Vytautas Sirijos Gira’s novella *Buenos Airės*. It is the story of Adomas and Liucė, who dream of escaping poverty and reaching Buenos Aires—a city symbolising freedom, hope and the possibility of a new life. But this dream remains unfulfilled. The piece becomes a bridge to Astor Piazzolla’s Buenos Aires, the city where tango nuevo was born. The programme then takes us through different facets of this musical world: from the monumental *Aconcagua* to the nostalgic *Adiós Nonino* and *Oblivion*, reaching its climax with *Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas*. The concert concludes with Arturo Márquez’s *Danzón No. 2*, extending this musical journey to a broader Latin American cultural horizon,” says conductor I. J. Šimkus.

In this concert, the accordion becomes the central voice of the story—intimate, vivid and emotionally shifting, guiding us through different moods, from melancholic reflection to the city’s expressive, pulsing energy.

Laimonas Salijus is a Lithuanian accordionist and educator who performs actively as a soloist and as a participant in chamber and orchestral projects. He has won prizes in major national competitions and international competitions, including the Coupe Mondiale and Trophée Mondiale, and has performed across Europe, North America and South America with various orchestras.