The opening concert of the 23rd International Festival of Organ Music, which is dedicated to the Czech musician, pedagogue and organist Rudolf Liehmann, who worked in the city for most of his life and as a music teacher laid the foundation for the Lithuanian music education, was held on 15th of August 2022 in the Lithuanian town of Rokiškis North-Eeast of the country near the Latvian border.

The concert featured a trio consisting of Tomáš Thon – organ, Pavel Hromádka – trumpet and Dušan Foltýn – oboe, which in the completely filled neo-gothic Church of St. Matthew masterfully performed pieces of Czech composers B. M. Černohorský, B. Finger, V. Vodička, J. Zach and P. J. Vejvanovský.

The concert enjoyed great interest of traditionally receptive audience, and the Czech trio deservedly received a long-lasting ovation. Tomáš Vostrý, Minister-Counsellor of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Vilnius, publicly thanked the town of Rokiškis for its long-term support for the festival and the care it devotes to the legacy of the Czech native Rudolf Liehmann: “This is a tradition that we should maintain. It co-creates the spirit of the city and cultivates the souls of us all.” The festival director A. Gudgalienė appreciated the Embassy’s support and expressed her wish that the long-term cooperation would continue.

After the concert, T. Vostrý and the performing artists laid a wreath at the grave of Rudolf Liehmann in the local cemetery. 

On the 17th of August, 2022, the trio enjoyed - in the presence of the Czech Ambassador Vít Korselt - similar success like in Rokiškis also at the Vilnius International Music Festival in the architecturally and acoustically exceptional baroque church of St. Casimir in the historical centre of Vilnius. The concert in Vilnius was realized with the support of the Czech-Lithuanian society.