The festival “Riga Jurmala” / Article will be opened with a series of musical evenings

Symbolically opening the international classical music festival “Riga Jurmala”, on July 2 and 3, the first musical evenings of the festival in this summer’s series of events will take place in the square opposite the Latvian National Opera, the organizers informed. In cooperation with Latvijas Radio 3 “Klasika”, visitors to Riga parks and Jurmala beaches will be able to listen to audio performances of the concert program planned by the festival performed by various world-famous orchestras and artists on other summer weekends.

As the organizers of the festival explained, musical evenings allow to get to know classical music from a different point of view – during the evening the specific venue is turned into a picnic, offering to enjoy two hours of classical music in an informal atmosphere. Visitors can enjoy a picnic meal in cooperation with the festival partners or with their picnic baskets. The author of the scenography of the event is the Latvian artist Krišs Salmanis.

“We are extremely happy to be able to open the long-awaited new season of the festival with musical evenings – a new format that we created last year, when due to the pandemic we were forced to cancel the festival concerts.

To provide an opportunity to listen to the program of the festival, we invited music lovers to a picnic in the parks of Riga and Jurmala to enjoy the audio recordings of symphony orchestras in a safe, relaxed and special atmosphere.

Referring to the great interest of the visitors, in addition to the concerts of the festival, it will be possible to enjoy unforgettable musical evenings this summer, ”said Zane Čulkstēna, the executive director of the festival“ Rīga Jūrmala ”.

On July 2 and 3, from 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm, in the musical evenings of “Riga Jurmala” in the square at the Latvian National Opera, you will be able to listen to a selection of specially selected audio performances from the planned concert program of the festival. On July 2, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s overture to Don Juan (English Baroque soloists and conductor John Eliot Gardiner) and the Second Piano Concerto at Sibemol Major KV 39 (Marey Perray and the English Chamber Orchestra), as well as Robert Schuman’s Second Symphony, will be performed. 61 (London Symphony Orchestra and conductor John Eliot Gardiner), and on July 3 – Robert Schuman Piano Concerto in Laminator, Op. 54 (Andrew Schiff, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and conductor Antal Dorati of Amsterdam) and Johannes Brahms’ First Symphony in Dominator, Op. 68 (Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor Mariss Jansons).

Entrance to “Riga Jurmala” musical evenings is free and the number of places is limited, so the organizers invite pre-register. In order to comply with the applicable safety regulations, it will be possible to attend the events on presentation of a valid digital Covid-19 certificate confirming the fact of vaccination or illness.

About the festival

From July 16 to September 5, four world-class orchestras will perform at the Riga Jurmala Festival – the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (conductor John Eliot Gardiner), the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (conductor Yuri Temirkanov), the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Bayreuth Festival Orchestra (conductor Andris Nelsons), as well as internationally renowned performing artists such as pianists Leif Uve Annnes, Jefim Bronfman, Vikingur Olafson, Maria Joao Piraeus, András Schiff, Arkady Volodos and Yuidia Miyaz Also outstanding at the festival “Riga Jurmala” are outstanding solo artists – René Fleming (soprano), Brin Terfel (bass baritone) and Matthias Gerne (baritone). The concerts of symphony orchestras will take place in the first three weekends in Dzintari Concert Hall in Jūrmala, and in the fourth and final weekend – in the Latvian National Opera in Rīga.

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