The concert on September 10 is expected to feature the premiere of the versatile composer, pianist and poet Lera Averbach’s Serenade to the Melancholic Sea. Kremerata Baltica musicians, pianist Agnese Egliņa and vibrophonist Andrejs Pushkarev, as well as Madara Peterson and Magdalena Ceple will perform the dedication of contemporary Russian composer Viktor Kisin to the outstanding violinist, teacher and Gidon Kremer’s school friend Filip Hirschhorn, Guy Kanchel Twil Plakida Music for piano, tympanum and strings and music by Kristaps Peterson for a large ensemble composed for Kremerata Letonica musicians.
On September 11, Kremerata Baltica resident pianist Georgy Osokin will be the soloist of Frederic Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto. In the program: rarely played XX century. Chamber Symphony by Azerbaijani composer Fikret Amirova. Performed by G. Kremer, we will hear a violin concert by Robert Schuman and the Georg Pelēča Flower Suite, in which the composer will enchant the magic of dandelions, callas and peonies.
If you had to formulate the motto of the upcoming festival in Dzintari, the main idea that unites all its musical diversity, how would it sound?
Gidon Kremer. We want to celebrate our 100th (75 + 25) anniversary with various music that is dear to us – both classical (which also includes Schuman and Chopin) and contemporary, which is equally important in Kremerata Baltica’s repertoire.
What do you want to highlight in the programs of this concert?
Almost unknown compositions in Latvia that have been written recently (for example, Amirov’s Chamber Symphony) and that have been written especially for the Kremerata Baltica orchestra or me (Lera Averbach’s Serenade, works by Gija Kančeli). I am glad that many artists and soloists with whom we regularly collaborate (conductor Fuad Ibrahimov, pianist Georgy Osokin, Kremerata Baltica musicians Madara Petersone, Andrejs Pushkarevs and our family’s young cellist Magdalena Ceple) take part in our celebrations.
Why are you playing this music right now?
It seems to me that every program has to be personal in some way. That’s why I always choose compositions that I consider to be excellent or in which I can feel the inspiration of the composer. The choice is changing, but I want to share what I consider important at the moment.
What is your brightest creative event last summer?
We have just completed a concert tour in Italy and Germany with a program dedicated to Astora Piacola’s 100th birthday. We will also play it in Latvia during the national holiday on November 20 in Cēsis. I’m still happy about Kremerata Letonica establishment. This is a new ensemble with Kremerata Baltica musicians from Latvia. This can be considered as our new project. Musicians come together to find their face and their own, from Kremerata Baltica different repertoire and your audience. We recently performed successfully at the JS Bach Festival in Ansbach. They were the first Kremerata Letonica concerts abroad. In November, the new ensemble and I will have concerts in Canada.
How do you overcome the shadow of a pandemic, and how do you look to the future?
The main thing – do not continue to forget your creative powers and your roots, just like to serve music, not yourself.
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