“Pēteris Vasks Music April” at Cēsis Concert Hall: 80th Anniversary, Gratitude and a World Premiere

Every spring, at the end of April, Cēsis Concert Hall invites audiences to the music festival dedicated to composer Pēteris Vasks, an event that has become an important highlight in Latvia’s musical life. This year is especially significant, as Pēteris Vasks celebrates his 80th birthday in April. His music in Cēsis has always been more than a series of concerts. It is a presence, a dialogue and a shared journey through outstanding music, reflecting the uniquely close bond that has developed between the composer and the town of Cēsis since the very beginnings of the concert hall.

The festival will open on Saturday, April 25, with a major musical event: the world premiere of Pēteris Vasks’ new work Song of Gratitude. The Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andris Poga, will perform the premiere. Alongside the new composition, audiences will hear the Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra, a work that since its premiere in 2018 has become one of Vasks’ most prominent opuses. The solo part will once again be performed by one of the world’s leading oboists, Albrecht Mayer. The evening will conclude with Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 4.

About the new work, Pēteris Vasks says:

“This year will see two premieres. The first is Song of Gratitude for string orchestra. It is my expression of gratitude to the Creator and to all my friends with whom I have served music. The work was commissioned by four institutions: the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra of Japan, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Munich Chamber Orchestra. The world premiere will take place at Cēsis Concert Hall on April 25. A month later, the opus will be performed in Tokyo.”

The second day of the festival, Sunday, April 26, will be devoted to Vasks’ spiritual world. The State Academic Choir Latvija will join forces on stage with internationally acclaimed organist Iveta Apkalna. The programme will feature music by Pēteris Vasks for choir and organ, including Laudate Dominum and Dona nobis pacem, alongside works by his spiritual companions Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Liszt and other composers.

Iveta Apkalna is one of the world’s leading organists, Honorary Organist of the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, a four-time recipient of the Latvian Grand Music Award and a Commander of the Order of the Three Stars. Her musicality and the vast sonic palette of the organ will lend the Sunday concert a special depth and radiance.

The festival programme will also include pre-concert talks in which the composer’s presence and reflections will encourage audiences to contemplate human existence and the meaning of life. On Saturday at 3:30 p.m., a discussion and opening of the exhibition Rūdolfs Pinnis: The Mystery of Colour will take place, featuring Pēteris Vasks, art collector Helmuts Strauhs and Kaspars Rikards, grandson of Rūdolfs Pinnis. The discussion will be moderated by art historian and exhibition curator Inese Baranovska.

On Sunday at 3:30 p.m., audiences are invited to the discussion “Pēteris Vasks: Personality and Messages. A Glimpse into the Pages of an Upcoming Book”, featuring musicologists Baiba Jaunslaviete, Lauma Malnace, Zane Prēdele and Madara Boka. The conversation will be led by music critic Orests Silabriedis.

Admission to both discussions is free of charge.

The festival Pēteris Vasks Music April, now held for the ninth year at Cēsis Concert Hall, remains an invitation to pause, listen and be present in music, gratitude and shared experience.