- Dear Rimas Andrikis, what were major activities of the Lithuanian Bar Association of the last three years?
- The last term of office was marked by the 85th anniversary of the Lithuanian Bar demonstrating the maturity of the lawyers' profession, high professional values and old traditions. Alas, the major event of the last term - new Law on Bar passed on 18 March 2004 - was not so joyful. The law is contradictorily interpreted not only among lawyers but also among the whole law community. Despite of the opposition of the Lithuanian Bar, the legislative bodies decided to put lower requirements to education of would-be attorneys.
- Dear Juozas Èivilis, what are the first challenges that the new Council of the Lithuanian Bar Association is to face?
- The first hard challenge was the ongoing reform of state-guaranteed legal aid. The Lithuanian Bar and legislative bodies held different opinions about the reform. The amendment to the Law on State-guaranteed Legal Aid effective from 1 May 2005 has set actually a new model for provision of state-guaranteed legal aid what has greatly changed the activities of the Lithuanian Bar and attorneys practising in this field. The said law has established a new institution for management of state-guaranteed legal aid - State-Guaranteed Legal Aid Services leaving the Lithuanian Bar only with a formal role in the future management system. Bar functions will actually be insignificant since all decisions on the state-guaranteed legal aid will be passed by the new services. The new institutions have been authorized to administer and control the process of provision of state-guaranteed legal aid. Meanwhile, both Lithuanian legal acts and international documents say that not a single institution is allowed to interfere in lawyers' practise and verify the quality of legal aid. The Council of the Lithuanian Bar Association will have to work hard to preserve the major principals of the lawyer's practise and secure human rights in the state-guaranteed legal aid system.
- Dear Chairman, let's come back to the new Law on Bar that has already been criticized in the mass media. What works await the Lithuanian Bar in implementing or correcting the regulations of this law?
- The Council will lay all efforts to duly implement the new Law on Bar. Among the first works were adopting Statutes of the Lithuanian Bar, reorganizing the Council of the Lithuanian Bar Association into the Lithuanian Bar, passing several secondary legislation acts. Nevertheless, we will still have to work hard to prepare the order for some formal procedures as established in the new law. In this view, I would also like to mention amendments to the Law on Bar registered in the Seimas a year ago hearing of which in the parliament will undoubtedly cause large discussions. I think that the Council of the Lithuanian Bar Association will find it difficult to prove their arguments to members of the Seimas.
- Dear Juozas Èivilis, what are other issues that the new Council will deal with?
- The Council of the Lithuanian Bar Association will pay great attention to its routine works, issues of lawyer's professional ethics. The Council has always strongly adhered to its basic position - violations of the lawyer's professional ethics are in contradiction to guarantees of qualified legal aid, respect to the bar, lawyers, clients, law and other state institutions. The new Lithuanian Code of Professional Ethics for Layers to come into effect in the near future will raise new aspects in the professional ethics that we plan to discuss during seminars, conferences and other events.
Lawyer's professional qualification has always been in the centre of attention of the Council of the Lithuanian Bar Association. Improvement of lawyers' and lawyers' apprentices' qualification will be carried out systematically through development of qualification improvement methods and volumes.
- Lithuania's accession into the European Union has opened new prospects for international cooperation. Dear Rimas Andrikis, could you please tell more about international relations of the Council of the Lithuanian Bar Association?
- The Lithuanian Bar is an active member of the international legal community, and promotes the name of Lithuania and its lawyers. The Lithuanian Bar is the member of the International Bar Association (IBA) and Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE). One can expect good results only through participation in activities of these international organizations and development of bilateral cooperation with the bar self-governing institutions.
- Dear Chairman, what opinion does the Council of the Lithuanian Bar Association holds towards to the present-day contrasting situation?
- The new Council fearlessly meets all challenges, strengthens the professional community and principles of the democratic state.

Apart from manufacture, the company Presbetonas also offers tile laying services. There are six teams of tile laying specialists, three of which are placed in Alytus and three in Þieþmariai.
Today company specialists work in Vievis, Kaiðiadorys, Kaunas, Alytus and Vilnius. Large orders have been realized in Jonava (railway station platform), Joniðkis (petrol station), Druskininai (town square), thousand square meters have been covered with Presbetonas tiles in other towns and settlements throughout Lithuania.
The orders for tile laying services are placed a month in advance and it is natural, since the popularity of specialists depends upon both objective and subjective reasons. One of the numerous objective reasons is the upsurge in construction business fearing the introduction of the euro, and qualitative work is one of the subjective reasons.
How does the company administration guarantee quality of services?
Albinas Cikanavicius says that quality accompanies UAB Presbetonas since 1995 when the company was established. The specialists of the company attended seminars and practical training organized in cooperation with the German partners. Even today, after ten years, paving tiles seems to have been just laid in Baèkonys, a small settlement popular for its restaurant and wonderful nature. Director of Presbetonas reminds that the restaurant has preserved only 2 then employees. The ever-existing wish to do the work at the best and the inner imperative to search for pragmatic however pleasant business-like relations with clients has been crowned with growing orders. No doubt that each client would like to see Presbetonas specialists who are always in high-spirits and ready to satisfy all wishes realizing their orders more often. Moreover, that they easily understand client’s wishes and do not need to be reminded of their duties. This is the reason why many companies in Vilnius or Kaunas, also individual residents disregard attractive advertisements of tile laying specialists offering European quality of services who work in Lithuania’s largest cities and call Þieþmariai or Alytus in the search of top quality services.
The clients are very satisfied that tiles are laid by the specialists of the manufacturing company – it is more economical and time saving. Paving tiles are manufactured in Þieþmariai with the help of a powerful press-machine. Albinas Cikanavièius who is a university graduate in civil engineering and a well-balanced person is surprised to see that even a caterpillar tractor makes no harm to tiles after cleaning snow in winter time.
Recently, UAB Presbetonas has introduced a new technology for manufacture of paving tiles that is particularly popular in Germany. With the help of special equipment, paving tiles are punched with small pellets, so giving them rough surface and making look as if older. Although the square meter of such tiles costs by seven litas more in contrast to tiles with the flat surface, the production of UAB Presbetonas is cheaper compared to other companies. Lower production costs are partially achieved due to supply of the main raw material from the quarry owned by AB Alytaus gelþbetonis. The same company supplies materials needed in tile laying, like grit and sand. However, Albinas Cikanavièius regretfully says that transportations of these materials farther than a hundred kilometres is loss-making, and so the company is usually forced to buy them at place. So irrespectively of the fact that the company has its own transport fleet, special loading and unloading facilities and modern equipment for tile laying , the price of its services equals those dictated by the market.

Within the decade, several types of programmes have been developed. Starting the first festival, Paþaislis music fiesta gathers the famous Lithuanian and world performers among which were the late Yahudi Menuhin (1916-1999), Justus Frantz, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Frieder Bernius, Krysztof Penderecki, Yurij Bashmet, Vladimir Spivakov, David Gering, Alexander Kniazev, Lazar Berman, (1930-2005), Paul Badur-Skod, Cheryl Studer, Jasques Loussier trio. These music grandees are accompanied by the famous Lithuanian performers - pianist Petras Geniuðas, Mûza Rubackytë, violinists Raimundas Katilius (1947-2000), Vilhelmas Èepinskas, soloists Irena Milkevièiûtë, Asta Krikðèiûnaitë, Virgilijus Noreika, Vytautas Juozapaitis, Vladimiras Prudni-kovas, not speaking about the well-known Lithuanian quartets, ensembles and chamber choirs.
We are very happy to see that the famous world performers are surprised to see Paþaislis Music Festival not a music province but a well-arranged event of high artistic and cultural value. It is extremely important that the festival is discovered by the growing number of foreign guests who advocate the name of the festival far beyond the Lithuanian borders.
In 1996, the festival introduced a nice tradition inviting the play to be one of its composite parts. On the Day of Lithuanian Statehood - Crowing of the Lithuanian King Mindaugas - thousands of people gather to the national drama performance showed in approaches to the Kaunas Castle. Staging historical plays in the historic background has become a meaningful aspect in national cultural life.
Even the first Paþaislis Music Festival made Kaunas citizens and all Lithuanians feel being the true members of the European Union (eight years earlier than the actual membership). Already the first concert of the festival followed old traditions initiated by the European Council programmes Baroque, Monasteries, Hanza, welcomed the European Union Baroque Orchestra and European Union Youth Orchestra. The programme of the Paþaislis Music Festival 2004 was dedicated to Lithuania's accession into the European Union. It was as a unique chance to get to know, hear and see the wide music panorama representing all EU states with Lithuanian performers playing Ludwig van Beethoven IX symphony as a beginning.
The organizers of the Paþaislis Music Festival have helped Lithuania to discover many new places for cultural events. Concerts were organized Ðv. Jurgis Church, IX Fort, Zypliai and Þemaitkiemis Estates, Pociûnai Airport, and Botanical Garden. In many of these places, not only music had to "find its place" but also their territories had to be cleaned from thick dust layer so restoring the glory of the past from ruins.
The Paþaislis Music Festival is the result of targeted work and high artistic professionalism of Kaunas State Choir, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra and their directors Petras Bingelis, Juozas Domarkas, Saulius Sondeckis, Gintaras Rinkevièius and Vytautas Lukoèius. The reputation of the festival was even more strengthened by the managerial talent and perfect orientation in the field of international music of its director Justinas Kepëðta.
32-40 events are organized and 40 thousand guests come to the Paþaislis Music Festival every year. All concerts attract thousands of people this being the best answer to the question whether the classical music is still needed.
This year, like in all other years, the festival will last all three months of summer. As always, it will attract the attention of the mass media and stir up the moods of creators, performers and listeners. The concerts of the festival will at least for short stop the flowing by time and enliven the summer weekends by the feeling of a true festival.
Every man is looking for eternal values expressed in wonderful sounds of music in the ever-changing reality. Each generation discovers different elements in it. Even the oldest music renewed by young performers, enriched by unexpected colours and feelings becomes our contemporary, alter ego and a sublime fellow-traveller for the passing-by life. This is the music that one is invited to admire at the 10th Paþaislis Music Festival.
The 10th Paþaislis Music Festival is marked by the sign of globalization: even 6 new symphony orchestras will participate in the festival and three premiers will be shown. The joint projects will rally the Austrian, British, Lithuanian, Chinese, Jewish, American perfo rmers. The festival is becoming a springboard for new talents on their road to artistic improvement - during the festival, international Valentina and Pavel Berman classes will be held - and a place for brave experiments uniting traditions of old classical music and modern technologies. The best example of this merge will be the debut of electronic bass-viol by David Gering. The credo of the festival is inviting the best performers, playing world-famous pieces and perfecting the performance culture. The Paþaislis Music Festival may be deservedly called one of the best European music festivals - and this is not only our personal opinion.
Petras Bingelis, Artistic Director
The 10th Paþaislis Music Festival is a good occasion to review the works done, gain conceptual understanding of our place on the national and European music world. We are very happy that the festival has passed the exam in time and popularity and is famous as one of the best European, and even global, festivals. We are pleased that social surveys demonstrate the festival to be a priority culture event in Kaunas.
The Paþaislis Music Festival has gained an international recognition and trust of performers. Each year, the most famous music performers from all over the world play in the festival. However, we not only think about famous names but also about our listeners giving them a possibility to forget everyday works, stop for a moment under the shady Paþaislis limes and listen to the sounds of the eternal classical music.
Justinas Krëpðta, Coordinator
The 10th Paþaislis Music Festival presents a diversity of classical music genres, experiments with their relations and merge with the contemporary life. The traditionalism is accompanied by the democratic and innovative spirit in laying new ways for classical values to the modern community. Our aim is telling and proving that classical music is affordable to everybody, open for everyone, changes our lives, evokes eternal values and invites to think about the meaning of our short existence.
On the other hand, the festival is inseparable from material aspects. We would not be able to survive and offer for public audience treasures of classical music without the help of our sponsors. We are very happy about the budgetary support, understanding of a business sector and its wish to invest into the cultured business environment and an educated man. The time has proven that no flourishing economy will exist without an intelligent community. The festival draws attention to Lithuanian's architectural monuments, their poor status and brings some tangible benefits, among which are funds for renovation of churches and famous Lithuanian estates.
I would like sincerely thank everybody who has helped to organize the Paþaislis Music Festival for the tenth time. Welcome to the concerts of the festival!

Kaunas National
Philharmonic
Society
Tel.: +370 37 222558
filharmonija@pazaislis.lt
www.pazaislis.lt