On Saturday, September 14, shortly before the 144th season opening concert, at the Concert Hall “Lielais dzintars” the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra has presented its newest music album “Gundaris Pone. Portraits”, recorded under the direction of orchestra conductors Guntis Kuzma and Normunds Šnē.
The album recorded by the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra and released by the national record company “Skani” includes three opuses by the Latvian composer Gundaris Pone, who worked in America and Italy: seven Venetian portraits “La Serenissima”, five pieces for the orchestra “American Portraits” and the composition “Avanti!”.
“There are composers of local significance, and there are composers with global breadth – Gundaris Pone is one of the latter. He is undoubtedly among the most interesting and important figures in Latvian music, a man who must not remain only in history. When we connect Pone with the reality of the present day, we find that his work sounds fresh, topical and relevant,” these are the opening words by Orests Silabriedis included in the music album booklet.
At the album presentation event Mr. Uldis Lipskis, the director of the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, said: “It’s the very first time that our orchestra has encountered the very complicated and beautiful music by Gundaris Pone. It is really virtuosically written and, in my opinion, the orchestra played it very virtuosically as well, moreover, which is very unusual, within this project two excellent conductors stood before the orchestra both at the same time.”
“Pone's music is extremely mysterious, sometimes it asks questions that have no answer. This is the time when you don't feel uncomfortable if you don't have the answer, because there is a chance that many of these answers resemble some kind of a game...or maybe not,” says the artistic director of the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, conductor Guntis Kuzma, who is pleased with the outcome. “We are very happy with the fact that we have managed to bring it to life, since Gundaris Pone's music is extremely difficult, and we still did well, step by step.”
“I must give credit to the orchestra for the bravery and trust. I really don't know if I would have had the courage to take the first step, like going to the studio with Pone's full volume CD, also including the “Avanti!”. But, thanks to that, now it is even a bigger pleasure that it has been done after all. Those works that require getting over yourself a little, that require a lot of investment from you, always bring the greatest happiness, because that is the only way to get their message and energy back,” says conductor Normunds Šnē.
The summary written by the critic Robert Hugill (www.planethugill.com) reads as follows: "The Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, conductors Guntis Kuzma and Normunds Šnē do Pone proud. This is a vividly realised recording which does full justice to the complexity and vivid imagination of this music."
“Gundaris Pone. Portraits” is available on streaming platforms, including “Spotify”.