In “Klasika”, we meet GUNTI KUZMA, artistic director and chief conductor of the Liepaja Symphony Orchestra, to talk about the Liepaja International Star Festival, whose opening concert will take place on February 25 at 6 p.m. in the “Lielais dzintars” concert hall.
The festival will be opened for the first time by stars whose real brilliance is still in the hands of the future – they will be the laureates of the Valdas Vikmanis Latvian Young Player Artists Competition, who will take the stage of the “Lielais dzintars” concert hall together with the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra.
The competition is organized for the first time on such a scale, but the Liepaja Symphony Orchestra’s cooperation with the organizer of the competition Liepaja Music, Art and Design High School in developing the talent of young musicians goes back several decades.
The opening concert of the Liepāja International Festival of Stars will be crowned by the globally sought-after Latvian violinist Kristīne Balanas, who will play Antonín Dvořák’s Violin Concerto together with the Liepaja Symphony Orchestra under the direction of chief conductor Guntas Kuzmas.
Inta Zegnere: First of all, I congratulate you on “Kilograms of culture” – I think that it has inspired both you and the musicians for the next feats! And they will be here soon: the 31st Liepāja International Star Festival will take place from February 25 to March 11. As written in the release, a rich and bright journey in the world of music. What will it offer this time?
Guntis Kuzma: We have three big symphony concerts. Looking back in history, that’s one more. Because usually the dividing line was like this: a symphonic concert at the beginning and at the end of the festival, and various smaller concerts in between. This time, we have extended the festival to three weeks, because we really wanted to implement the competition, the organization of which was started already during the pandemic, when the Liepaja Symphony Orchestra cooperated with the Liepaja Music Arts High School. We opened the doors to all music secondary schools and welcomed applications, and the final will actually take place two days before the opening concert of the festival: in the final, young people will compete for the opportunity to perform together with the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra. Therefore, the well-known star of the opening concert will be the wonderful violinist Kristine Balanas, with whom we will play Dvořák’s Violin Concerto. In my opinion, this is a job that, by the way, is not often heard in Latvia. But the big intrigue will be who will be the winners of the competition: it will depend on what the program of our opening concert will be.
How many musicians – winners of the competition – will you give a place on stage?
Definitely three: first, second and third place. And maybe some accolades too [raksta] or to a special prize winner. You should also see how long the selected fragments will be and how they will fit together in the program. But what is clear is that the first three places will certainly perform with our orchestra at the opening concert on the big stage. It is a very motivating factor for young musicians to prepare for the final.
As early as March 2, you will be invited to the Dzintar Jurgelaish Hall, where we can listen to choir music.
Yes, there has always been a guest group at the festival, and this time there are even two: the already mentioned date with the chamber choir Ave Sol and conductor Jurģi Cābuli, while at the final concert we will be on the same stage with the Latvian Radio big band. But coming back to “Ave Sol” and the chamber hall: we thought it was a very interesting program that slowly developed over three years: it was transformed, the repertoire and ideas changed. Now we have reached the final result together with Jurgis Cābuli, and it will be music by Latvian composers, very colorful and diverse. And what’s also interesting – it won’t be just a concert by a guest group, but also a small collaboration with orchestra musicians. For example, violin and cello, or Līga Baltābola, concertmaster of our orchestra, and Klāvs Jankevics, concertmaster of the cello group, will also participate in Pēter Vaskas’ composition.
And Alexandra Spitzberga will sing.
Yes, but she is a choir Ave Sol singer. But from the Liepāja side, there will also be pianist Edgars Tumšević, with whom our orchestra has collaborated a lot: this time, Edgars will perform both in the role of concertmaster, accompanying Alexander Spitzberg, and also as a soloist, playing Jānis Ivanov’s Variations. He is a very close colleague to us, because – I’ll be honest – finding a good orchestra pianist… It’s real happiness! It is a very specific niche for a pianist. So we are very glad that Edgars is with us whenever there is a need.
I expect that on March 4, many people from Riga will make their way to Liepāja, and not only them, because the temptation will be great and the stars will be very bright: it will be trombonist and also composer Kristians Lindbergs, who studied trumpet until he was 16, and then by chance wanted to playing music in Dixieland and holding a trombone… And the well-known trumpeter Sergej Nakaryakov will be next to him, and all this – in one concert!
I wanted to invite Christian Lindberg in all roles, because he really is a colossal musician: I myself, as an orchestra player, have played under his direction – the charm of his personality is extremely energetic and charging! Christian himself will play his trombone concerto, which can be played without a conductor. Apparently, he wrote it that way, as he will be playing and conducting the performance himself, as well as accompanying Sergei Nakaryakov in the Weinberg Trumpet Concerto. I don’t remember when it was heard in Latvia. We talked with my colleagues – ninety-nine percent it will be the Latvian premiere. But in any case, they will be legendary personalities – masters of brass instruments who will meet on the same stage. In addition, Christian Lindbergh will also conduct Sibelius’ Second Symphony.
More and more widely – in the post.
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