On November 14, Edgars Saxons, the concertmaster of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra’s percussion group, celebrates his 50th birthday. A concert was planned, in which the new work of composer and musician Rihards Zaļupe would be performed, but it has been postponed to September 17, 2021. However, the anniversary noted that the Covid-19 pandemic had made it possible to assess the previous work pace and review priorities.
In the Latvian Radio program “Kultūras Rondo”, Edgars Saxons pointed out that postponing the concert has been a sensible choice in these circumstances: . And you think about what to do, what not to do. You can already try to play a concert in a virtually empty hall, in front of the camera, but who will enjoy it all – me, the orchestra or the audience, who also seems tired of watching TV concerts. I think this was a sensible decision, of course, looking at friends who could not come to this concert – even if my friend Pavel from Lithuania, who should take part in this concert, all my Lithuanian friends, acquaintances, the team with whom we organized the Lithuanian percussion instrument festival, they all might not be present. So I think it’s a logical step, and I don’t feel bad at all. Of course, it’s easier than if I had to take the stage in five days and play what Richard had written. “
Composer Rihards Zaļupe regretted the postponement of the concert, but concluded that we should try to learn something from the current situation: “I don’t mean that I lose concerts and I sit at home and don’t know what to do, because I have a lot of written music. The most unfortunate is the Edgar concert, which could not take place. But I fully agree that moving it is the best decision. Because I really wanted to play the work I have dedicated to him on his anniversary with Edgar and the orchestra. It’s such a moment. It will take some time, we will not even be able to recover that it will be September next year. This is a time we will definitely remember. ”
Rihards Zaļupe also said that the piece written for Edgar Saxon is not the first that the composer has dedicated to the jubilee.
“The first was in 2011, which I wrote to Edgar and 10 Timphans, which was like a huge spaceship on the stage of the Grand Guild. Edgar studied very thoroughly at that time. It was a very cool and bright event. I hope that I have landed a bit in terms of musical complexity, ”noted Zaļupe. “This time the context is that all these years, since I know Edgar, we have spent a lot of time on stage together and played a lot in the symphony orchestra, various solo projects and in Ukmergė, and I have become acquainted with the direction of music, which Edgar sympathizes with, and this new work was such an attempt to bring all these things together, plus, of course, with how I feel about music in general and how I like to write. This new work is a tribute not only to Edgar, but also to the famous Greek composer Jannis Ksenakis. ”
Rihards Zaļupe also highlighted the virtuosity of Latvian musicians:
“I think that in Latvia in general, if I represent the composers’ side, we should be very happy that we have fantastic performers who are able to play practically everything.”
Edgar Saxon, for his part, said that this time, unlike the 2011 piece, he used almost all the percussion instruments, except for the tympanum: will be quite colorful; when I get to know this work, I think it will be gorgeous and virtuoso, and loud enough for people to get the most out of it all. ”
Speaking about the current situation, Edgar Saxon admitted that nothing has stopped the musicians: “There is work at school, work at the academy. The symphony orchestra may have paused this week. But we will immediately start preparing for the recording session, we will continue to write the music of Tālivalža Ķeniņš. And you will have to study there because it is difficult. Because I don’t feel any discomfort. And those few days off are even very good. ”
The musician also said that the spring was followed by a very tense and concert-rich summer and the beginning of autumn: “It seems to me that there were more concerts than ever before. There were weeks when we played three or four concerts in a variety of ensembles and bands, and there was a feeling that we had to play everything that hadn’t been played. ”
The jubilee noted that the current situation has also allowed us to assess the past pace of work, with a rather positive and hopeful change to the coronavir outage: “My inner feeling is that, looking back on last year or what was in the spring in a clear perspective and having to happen, it’s a crazy race, a crazy carousel that spins faster and faster. This rupture, which happened, he may even be very timely and very good, because maybe now we can deduce priorities that are good, that are not good, or that we need all that we have had so far.
I’m only talking about classical music and all these huge festivals and concerts and playing around the world with planes and playing there and here and somewhere for now.
Now maybe those things will work out for us as well. ”
Edgar Saxon also spoke about the effects of globalization on the music industry and made a harsh assessment of the world of music: “When it comes to summer and concerts, I would say that it seems to me that money has prevailed over common sense. It is not clear to me why the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra should be taken to the Dzintari Concert Hall and people should try to listen to it there. Knowing the acoustic possibilities of this hall and everything else, it was easier to go there. So the money was concentrated, as everything is concentrated here, in one small hand, and so are these artists. They come under better agencies and even better ones, and this globalization is finally happening. And it seems to me that now it could dissolve, and we could return to logic in all those activities. Because, of course, whoever has the money can dictate the rules of the game. And, for example, there is a lesser-known artist, he may not be worse, but he is not at the bottom of this agency, this sponsor is supported, and he is nowhere to be found. But for those who have it, it is put everywhere, planes are flown from one country to another, people are running towards it.
It was arranged in that world. Let’s see how it all ends. “
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