Photo: Karīna Miezāja and Paula Čurkste / LETA, collage: “Latvijas Avīze”
“Latvijas Avīze”, JSC “Latvijas Mediji”
An open letter from Latvian professional musicians
We are pleased and pleased that after almost 20 years of discussions about the need for a concert hall in Riga, the Cabinet of Ministers has finally decided to support the implementation of this project. M
Riga, rich in musical traditions, has historically never had a concert hall, because the premises of the Great Guild were once adapted to the needs of the concert hall, and the most extensive reconstruction works took place after the fire in 1964. At present, both concerts and the daily work of musicians take place in conditions that are not suitable for today. We’ve talked about it a lot to the point of fatigue.
We unequivocally support the choice of a concert hall location in the city center.
Traditionally, national cultural buildings in the world’s metropolises are located in historic centers and parks. (..) We hope that in a few years we will also be able to be proud of the concert hall, which will be harmoniously integrated into the most beautiful park in the city and become a favorite and functionally public building. The concert hall must become not only a state business card, but also an important part of the public life of the capital and the state.
At the same time, we hope that the heated discussions about the processes of creating a concert hall will be professional, unifying, not divisive, that they will also take into account the needs of musicians – excellent acoustics, high-quality architecture and 21st century public space requirements. We hope that with this project we will be able to distinguish a new page in many sectors – construction, culture, economy.
It is worth mentioning that Latvia’s most outstanding conductor Mariss Jansons also worked tirelessly on the birthplace of new concert halls, where he once conducted – both in Oslo and Munich. Marisa Jansons’ dream was also to conduct in the new Riga Concert Hall. It is unfortunate that, after discussing the need for even more than 20 years, and even more so the location, the life of an excellent conductor has passed before our eyes, without waiting for the result. (..)
A compromise has now been found. Yes, the decision was taken quickly, yes – we understand the criticism of the lack of another, I do not want to say – another – discussion. However, we hope that all parties involved will look to the future, not the past, find unifying rather than divisive arguments, and finally be able to create a concert hall in Riga.
Looking back, we can conclude that the location of “AB dam” in the middle of the Daugava would have been beautiful, but disproportionately expensive, because 32 million euros would have to be invested only for the arrangement of the dam itself.
The reconstruction of the Congress House is associated with complex political and legal relations between the city of Riga and the state, the resolution of which would take a long time and resources.
On the other hand, when it comes to territories in Andrejosta or Skanste, there are too many legal, moral and financial risks in arranging public-private partnerships. Therefore, we believe that by freeing up space for the concert hall at Elizabetes Street 2, both the political and the most economically advantageous opportunity for the state to create something that would be long-awaited and valuable for Latvia has finally been found.
We call on individual politicians and members of the family of architects not to obstruct the implementation of this project, to engage in dialogue, not war, and to jointly create a cultural space worthy of a European state on Kronvalda Boulevard!
Guntars Prānis (Rector of JVLMA), Raimonds Pauls with a note that the LNSO needs a home, because musicians have long deserved it, Zigmars Liepiņš, Vestards Šimkus, Dita Krenberga, Raimonds Ozols, Aleksandrs Antoņenko, Ainārs Rubikis, Guntis Gailitis and Chairman of the Board of RLB), Jānis Liepiņš, Vairis Nartišs, Diāna Ozoliņa, Viesturs Vārdaunis, Normunds Šnē, Valts Pūce, Reinis Zariņš, Andrejs Osokins, Juris Kalnciems, Inese Galante, Egils Siliņš, Marina Rebeka, Māris Ošlejs, Andris Veismanis and others
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