You can watch the video record of the concert on the Precidency's official Youtube channel.

With:
Ēriks Kiršfelds, cello
Reinis Zariņš, piano
State Choir Latvija
Latvian National Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Andris Poga

Works by Ēriks Ešenvalds, Pēteris Vasks, Ludvig van Beethoven

The concert will open with a new opus created especially for this event by the critically acclaimed Latvian composer, Ēriks Ešenvalds. About his new piece, After the Storm, Ešenvalds says: “It conjures up an ancient Latvian scene just after a thunderstorm. As the clouds subside, shepherds emerge from their shelters and call out to each other, rejoicing in the sun, the lush grass, and the beauty of nature’s bounty.”

Pēteris Vasks’ Cello Concerto will recall the threats against the newly regained independence of the Baltic States in January and August 1991. In this piece, Vasks’ ideals and anxieties can be clearly discerned: it embodies the light and hope that never left the composer even in the darkest of days, but at the same time it mirrors darkness and aggression. Ēriks Kiršfelds, the concertmaster of the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra’s cello section and long-time concertmaster of the Kremerata Baltica Chamber Orchestra’s cello section, will perform the cello solo.

Finally, in his Choral Fantasia, Ludwig van Beethoven will speak of the brotherhood of men and global joy. The brilliant underlying theme of this opus is his song Gegenliebe. The audience will recognize this theme as a precursor of the magnificent melody of the finale of the Symphony No. 9 – The Ode to Joy. The piano solo will be performed by Reinis Zariņš, a two-time recipient of the Latvian Grand Music Award (2012 and 2013) and winner of 11 international music competitions. He has performed all over the world, including the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York’s Steinway Hall, the Wigmore Hall in London and the Glazunov Hall in St Petersburg.

Conductor Andris Poga has been the Artistic Director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra since November 2013. Having studied philosophy as well as conducting, he was the Assistant Conductor of the Orchestre de Paris and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He was in charge of the Munich Philharmonic’s tour to Beijing, Shanghai, and Taipei in October 2014, which received great critical acclaim. He received the Latvian Grand Music Award for an exceptional debut, in 2007.