This year’s festival theme, “EXPRESSION—MEANING,” explores the spectrum of performativity aesthetics in Lithuanian music.

It is not quite opera or theater, nor performance art or audiovisual work. Yet, this kind of music already transcends the boundaries of a traditional composition or concert. By merging with other media and art forms—and often employing unconventional creative practices—it blurs boundaries, frequently venturing into the realm of interdisciplinary art, balancing on the edges of categories, or even creating entirely new phenomena.

In the festival program, performativity emerges as a mode of expression, a structural form, media complementing the music, or perhaps even a distinct and as-yet-undefined genre. It may simply offer a different kind of relationship with the audience. Whatever the case, it is a deliberate approach to realizing the artistic concept. The chosen methods are far from random—they generate specific meanings, enrich the work with multiple contexts, and often pair the music with visual elements or performative actions. Each component or combination of elements acts as a guide, leading the listener toward a deeper understanding and a more impactful experience of the musical work.