This morning, composer Vilnis Šmīdbergs, a pioneer of Latvian rock music and co-author of the symphony composition “Katedrāle”, is visiting Signe Lagzdiņš in the “Klasika” studio!
Together we solve rock music puzzles and enjoy musical coffee in the style of Vilnius Schmidberg, on the 115th anniversary we remember the composer Jānis Ivanovs and tune in to the concert of the Riga Orchestra “Cathedral and Rock”, which will sound like a closing this year’s festival Windstream.
We are also talking about the time of the existence of “Katedrāle” – how this rock band was formed, how music was made, why so little has survived and why it is such a significant turning point in the history of Latvian rock music …
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At the October 10 concert “Cathedral and Rock” the soloists will be Atis Zviedris and Atis Ieviņš, conductor – Valdis Butāns, and together with the Orchestra “Rīga” the instrumental score will be provided by rock band – Mārcis Auziņš (guitar), Toms Poišs (bass guitar), Jānis Miltiņš ( keyboard instruments), and Mārtiņš Miļevskis (percussion instruments).
With the support of VKKF, a new work by Vilnius Šmīdbergs and Gunārs Šimkus “Cathedral” is a large-scale multi-part symphonic composition for rock band and wind instruments. The composition will form a symbolic bridge to the beginnings of the Latvian rock music genre at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s, when Vilnis Šmīdbergs (keyboards) together with Gunārs Šimks (guitar), Algirdas Utirs (Algirdas Utyra, bass guitar) and later also Ingvar Leia (bass guitar), Einars Raibo (drums) and Vladimir Smirnov (drums) formed the musical association “Cathedral”.
Sketches and notes of the original compositions of the rock group “Katedrāle” preserved in the private archives of Gunārs Šimkus are still used as thematic material in the composition.
The concert will be a unique opportunity to get to know the peculiar musical style of the rock band “Katedrāle”, as well as to hear the wind orchestra in an unusual composition and sound.
Continuing Valdis Bhutan’s artistic idea, a dedication to the legendary British rock band is included in the program as the second pillar of rock music. Deep Purple – John Lord (Jon Lord) “Concerto for Band and Orchestra” (1969). Listeners will have the opportunity to hear the premiere of this opus wind orchestra version in Latvia.
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