OPENING CONCERT 2026

Festival Glasperlenspiel
Thu, July 9th at 7 pm, St. John’s church (Jaani Street 5, Tartu)
OPENING CONCERT
Vytautas Kiminius (birbynė, conductor / Lithuania), Martin Kuuskmann (bassoon, Estonia/USA), Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta, concert master Arvo Leibur
Mozart, Vähi

Vytautas Kiminius is a prominent Lithuanian musician, conductor, and a leading virtuoso of the birbynė, a traditional Lithuanian woodwind instrument. He is considered one of Lithuania’s foremost players of the birbynė. He has been credited as the first professional to study and represent the instrument’s capabilities outside of Lithuania, often performing classical repertoire adapted for the folk instrument.
Vytautas Kiminius serves as the conductor of the Alytus Symphony Orchestra “Svajonė”. He has also conducted various other orchestras and national events, such as the Lithuanian Song Celebration.
Kiminius frequently performs with international artists. Notable 2024–2025 activities included a tour in the United States with The American Virtuosi and European concerts with pianist Vincenzo De Martino.
He graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (birbynė performance, 2014) and a Master’s in symphony orchestra conducting (2016). He furthered his skills through an internship in Italy at the Conservatorio di Verona Evaristo Felice Dall’Abacoro Baccini.
He has actively promoted the birbynė on global platforms, including a live performance on Deutsche Welle’s “The Sound of Europe”.

Estonian-born bassoonist Martin Kuuskmann belongs among the leading voices on his instrument, performing repertoire landmarks from across the entire scope of classical music and avant-garde as well as indulging the occasional foray into modern improvisation with some of the world’s most celebrated orchestras and conductors. As a soloist, Kuuskmann possesses an unmatched ability to draw rare expressiveness and brilliant timbre out of his reed, awarding him several bassoon concertos, written explicitly for Kuuskmann by composers such as Erkki Sven Tüür, Christopher Theofanidis, Tõnu Kõrvits and Pall Ragnar Pallson, among others.
Kuuskmann is a freelance musician, performing regularly with leading New York-based orchestras like the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra or the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he has occupied the bassoon solo position of the Kristjan Järvi-fronted Absolute Ensemble from 1995 onward. He has performed with countless renowned orchestras – among them the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the American Composers Orchestra – and he has worked under the direction of conductors such as Neeme, Paavo and Kristjan Järvi on the one hand and Dennis Russel Davies, Risto Joost, Olari Elts and Mihhail Gerts on the other.
An extensive and steadily growing recording catalogue documents Kuuskmann’s activity, the Grammy-nominated Bassoon Concertos (2017, ERP records), which the composer Christopher Theofanidis wrote with Kuuskmann in mind, included. David Chesky’s Bassoon Concerto (Chesky Records, 2006), too, had been written explicitly for the bassoonist by the American composer and the recording was also nominated for a Grammy. But besides the great majority of entries into his discography consisting of acclaimed classical recordings – not forgetting Miguel Kertsman’s Bassoon Concerto (Naxos, 2018) featuring the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Dennis Russel Davies – Kuuskmann occasionally demonstrates flashes of his eclectic musical tendencies, too, as captured on outings like Archipelago (CCn’C, 2001) – a duo project with accordionist William Schimmel – or The Path Of Mantra (Erdenklang 2002), in collaboration with Peeter Vähi and Drikung Kagyu Monks. Past associations with jazz luminaries Joe Zawinul, Gerry Mulligan and John Patitucci further confirm that Kuuskmann is not just any bassoonist, but an exceptionally creative instrumentalist with an open mind and a unique voice.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Bassoon Concerto, in B-flat major, Movement I, fragment 3 min 44 sec, Martin Kuuskmann (bassoon), mp3, 320 Kbps

Peeter Vähi. Birbynė Concerto, Vytautas Kiminius (birbynė), live, fragment, 4 min 31 sec, mp3, 320 Kbps

Organizers:
Tiina Jokinen – executive director
Kadri Kiis – producer, accountant
Kaidi Ugandi – manager of Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta
Meeta Vardja – musicologist, editor of festival booklet
Mart Kivisild – design
Olavi Sööt – co-producer, video, logistics
Reno Hekkonens – marketing director, PR
Johannes Vähi – co-producer, webmaster, sound engineering, logistics
Rebeca Birk – social media

Special thanks: Tartu City Government, Urmas Klaas, Triin Käpp, Jana Raud, Ministry of Culture of Estonia, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Canon and Overall, St John’s church, Kaupo Kiis, Kristel Leppik, volunteers

Next Glasperlenspiel: July 8th – 13th, 2027