On August 26 at 19:00 at the legendary Concert Garden “Pūt, vējini!” the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, accompanied by guitar player and composer Kaspars Zemītis and singers Renārs Kaupers, Daumants Kalniņš and Elza Rozentāle, will come together in a symphonic conversation with one of the most outstanding Latvian composers – Imants Kalniņš.
The concert will feature the original music by Kaspars Zemītis, including the upcoming premiere of his new work called “Seasons”, and also songs by Imants Kalniņš that are well-known and loved by the audience, such as: “Viņi dejoja vienu vasaru” (“They danced once in the Summer”), “Akāciju palags” (“Acacia Cover”), “Dūdieviņš”, “Elpo” (“Breathe”), etc.
Ainārs Rubiķis will take the place at the conductor’s desk.
“To me it's important for the guitar to sing. If just notes are played or you can hear its strings being plucked, it's not my kind of thing,” says Kaspars Zemītis, who is celebrating anniversary this year.
Imants Kalniņš is one of the most prolific and popular composers of Latvian academic and rock music, and his music transcends genre boundaries, as evidenced by his rich and colourful song instrumentation and melodic themes in academic music pieces.
This summer the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra will give two concerts at the Concert Garden “Pūt, vējini!”: at the fullness of Liepāja's short summer, on July 15 at 19:00, at the magnificent opera music Gala Concert the audience will enjoy overtures, arias and ensemble performances of famous operas created by such masterminds as Giuseppe Verdi, Gioachino Rossini, Pietro Mascagni, Jules Massenet and Charles Gounod.
The charming French soprano Perrine Madoeuf, the charismatic tenor, owner of a brilliant voice Mikhail Chulpaev, and the Romanian baritone Bogdan Baciu will take the open-air stage accompanied by the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra.
At the opera music gala concert the outstanding Azerbaijani conductor Yalchin Adigezalov, who has already given concerts together with the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra before, will take the place at the conductor's desk.
The tradition to organise symphonic concerts, which was started in 1881, has become an integral sign of Liepāja's cultural identity. The authorities, the city itself, the stages built for open-air concerts have changed through the years, however, the practice of enjoying music on summer evenings surrounded by the breath of the sea, keeps coming back into the rhythm of life of our city spirit.
Last year, celebrating the grand revival of the Concert Garden “Pūt, vējini!”, Liepāja Symphony Orchestra has honoured the fundamental musical traditions of the cultural capital of Kurzeme District in three ambitious concerts: the Liepāja opera tradition was celebrated with an opera gala concert, the 140-year-long symphonic tradition was celebrated with the concert programme by Vestards Šimkus and Guntis Kuzma, and the rock music tradition that has been thundering already for more than half a century – with the legendary band “Pērkons” (“Thunder”).
Tickets for the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra concerts can be purchased at “Biļešu Paradīze” ticket offices.
The Concerts are supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, the State Cultural Capital Foundation and Liepāja City.
