On Friday, August 21, in Ventspils, in the concert hall “Latvija”, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO) summer festival was opened on the open-air stage of the Small Hall “LNSO summer house 2020″.
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At the opening concert “LNSO Brass Band” and conductor Jānis Retenais performed compositions by well-known American composers – the audience’s favorite George Gershwin and jazz classic Duke Elington. The festival in Ventspils will run until Sunday, offering concerts to watch both in person and online. “LNSO Summer House” is organized by LNSO and Concert Hall “Latvija” in Ventspils.
At the opening of the festival, “LNSO Brass Band” and conductor Jānis Retenais offered the listeners the melodies of George Gershwin, Duke Elington, Scott Joplin, Cole Porter and other American composers. The evening continued with LNSO editor – in – chief Orest Silabriedis and Ventspils Miks Magone, the artistic director of the concert hall, came to the DJ ‘s desk, delighting the audience with a special selection of music.
Continuing the festival on Saturday, August 22, at the concert “LNSO, Glas and Moulli”, LNSO, musicians of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by LNSO conductor Guntis Kuzma will perform compositions by the most famous American composers Philip Glas and Niko Mjuli. The concert will sound twice – at 16.00 and 20.00. The concert will feature Glass’s 11th Symphony. The second part of the program will consist of opuses by Niko Mjūlija, the successor of Glasa’s musical tradition. In four of them you will be able to enjoy the unique sound of the concert hall, which will be complemented by alto and marimba tunis. Music by Pēteris Trasuns (viola), Guntars Freibergs (marimba) and Aigars Reinis (organ).
On Saturday at 6.30 pm, children from the age of two to six are invited to enjoy the musical fairy tale “Musicians of Bremen”, where popular classical music compositions will be performed in a theatrical atmosphere. Taking into account the perception of babies, the show is designed for this age group. Four LNSO musicians will both play their instruments and become Bremen musicians. Oboeist Egils Upatnieks, cellist Ieva Upatniece, percussionist Ernests Mediņš and harpist Ieva Šablovska will take part in the concert.
On Sunday, August 23, at 12.00 in the Small Hall of the Concert Hall “Latvija”, an improvisation demonstration class will take place for future music professionals and also for every novice non-professional.
The master class will be led by “Xylem Trio” pianist, Jāzeps Mediņš Riga Music High School Jazz and popular music department head Raimonds Petrauskis, pianist and composer Edgars Cīrulis, double bassist and bass player, Ventspils Music High School Jazz department head Toms Poišs. The improvisation demonstration lesson will be available online on the LNSO’s Facebook profile and on the LNSO’s website.
In addition to the master class, school-age children are invited to the musical performance “Zenīts” on Sunday at 12.00, for which music was composed by Jānis Šipkēvics. The performance is designed as an emotional message of John himself and his former classmate, the poet Martha Pujat, about the experiences of the school years. Two singing boys draw the classrooms and corridors of the 90’s Riga Dome Choir School to the audience, ride the elevator, write dictations, play “Super Mario” and dream of new bots. “Zenīts” was nominated for the “Kilograms of Culture” award in the “Surprise of the Year” category and for the Grand Music Award 2017 as “Performance of the Year”.
The festival will end with a special event – a concert “LNSO, Raimonds Pauls and Gija Kančeli” on Sunday, August 23 at 17.00. Maestro Raimonds Pauls and the Georgian composer Guy Kančeli, who was named after the sun last autumn, are friends of his youth, who have worked together on several recordings and a music album. Well, the compositions of both artists will be heard in the concert hall “Latvija”. At the piano – of course, Raimonds Pauls. “Xylem trio” will also take part in the concert: saxophonist Oskars Petrauskis, pianist Raimonds Petrauskis and percussionist Rihards Zaļupe. The conductor of the concert is Andris Poga, the artistic director of the LNSO.
The traditional “Pre-Concert Talks” of the LNSO, led by Orest Silabriez, will also be shown online, this time in the form of a newly created LNSO podcast and will take place in the Banquet Hall on the second floor. On August 22, at 7 pm, there will be a conversation about 20th and 21st century American music and its impact on the world – participants Andris Poga and Miks Magone. In turn, on August 23 at 16.00 in honor of the new school year, there will be a discussion on music education issues, the translation of musical puzzles for a wide range of people will also be discussed; Andris Grigalis, director of Ventspils Music High School, Georgs Sarkisjans, LNSO concertmaster, and pianist and composer Edgars Cīrulis will participate.
All concerts are filmed, offering to watch them online on the LNSO and “Biļešu paradīze” pages. It will be possible to enjoy the online concert both at the moment of the concert and two weeks after.
During the evening concerts, free concert lessons for children will take place in the concert hall “Orff”. Teacher Rebecca Busule will take care of the youngest members of the family, allowing parents to enjoy the concert in peace.
LNSO Summer House “is an LNSO summer festival with classical and non-academic programs. The idea of the festival is to move away from the capital closer to the listeners of other Latvian regions and regional concert halls. After three years in Cēsis and two years in Rēzekne, the festival takes place in Ventspils for the first time.
Tickets for the festival in person, as well as online concerts are available at “Biļešu paradīze” box offices and on the Internet.
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