Healing the Rifts: A conversation with a composer about censorship
15. April, Saturday - 16:00, 2023

Healing the Rifts: A conversation with a composer about censorship

Organised by: Ekspozīcijas “Sirdsapziņas ugunskurs” atbalsta fonds

In today’s Latvia censorship is expressly banned according to the Constitution of the country. A creative person is free to express himself or herself in any genre, style or aesthetic of their choice.

What were the conditions under which a young composer was forced to work in the Latvian SSR? How did the Soviet censorship work? What were the obstacles placed in the path of a young composer deemed by Soviet functionaries incongruous with the Communist ideology and thus a persona non grata? How did searching for ways to bypass the censorship and resistance to the Soviet system transform into factors that are contributory to a successful international career?

In our search for answers to these and other questions we will be joined by Pēteris Vasks, one of the most internationally renowned Latvian composers, a classic of the New Simplicity movement.

The conversation will be mediated by composer and censorship researcher Edgars Raginskis.

FREE ADMISSION

Organised by Support Fund for the Burning Conscience (“Sirdsapziņas ugunskurs”) permanent exhibition

Supported by the Ministry of Culture