Kaunas State Philharmonic
Kaunas concert society in the interwar Palace of Justice, home of the city symphony orchestra and choir.
The philharmonic occupies the former Palace of Justice and Parliament, raised between 1925 and 1928 to a design by Edmundas Frykas when Kaunas was Lithuania's provisional capital. Its Great Hall served the Seimas before becoming a concert venue in 1961, first as the Kaunas branch of the national philharmonic society and, from 2006, as an independent institution. A reconstruction begun in 2005 reopened the hall in October 2008 with improved acoustics and restored interiors.
The building belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage listing of Modernist Kaunas, inscribed in 2023 for the architecture built during the interwar decades. Programming ranges across symphonic and chamber repertoire, choral and vocal concerts, festivals such as Olympus Musicus and Pazaislis, and concerts written for children and families. The Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra and the Kaunas State Choir appear here regularly alongside visiting soloists and ensembles.
Highlights
- Great Hall of the former Palace of Justice and interwar Seimas
- Part of the UNESCO listing of Modernist Kaunas architecture
- Home concerts of the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra
- Festival programmes including Olympus Musicus each autumn
