On March 28 at 6:00 PM, the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra invites listeners to the concert hall "Lielais dzintars", where, in the context of the 90th anniversary of the legendary Latvian composer, educator, artist and poet Agris Engelmanis, they will be able to experience the premieres of two special dedication compositions in a creative dialogue between three composers.
The central event of the program – Andris Vecumnieks’ new vocal-instrumental work “Sinfonia G”, based on Engelmanis’ poetry, will be performed by the orchestra under the direction of the author, together with the State Academic Choir “Latvija” and soloist Annija Kristiāna Ādamsone. The concert will also feature Agris Engelmanis’ Requiem, the unfinished part, which was created especially for this event by composer Ēriks Ešenvalds.
Agris Engelmanis (1936–2011) is regarded as one of Latvia’s most distinctive and significant composers, whose creative life was deeply connected to the city of Liepāja. His music is marked by profound emotional depth, avant-garde thinking, and a unique ability to combine simplicity with complex musical structures. Engelmanis’ works have been performed at the Latvian Song and Dance Festival, and he is considered a representative of post-war Latvian modernism - an artist whose work often anticipated its time.
The anniversary program will intertwine the music and poetry of Agris Engelmanis, honoring his creative legacy and offering new interpretations, including premieres created especially for this event.
“The main idea and musical foundation of Symphony G is the poetry of Agris Engelmanis. G = Sol = Sun = Engelmanis’ ‘Sun’ poetry,” emphasizes Andris Vecumnieks. “The entire content of these lines—‘I remain misunderstood in the shadow’—is encoded in the orchestra; it is the instrumental music of this content without words, which gives the concert a special depth and invites listeners to discover the world of Engelmanis’ poetry and music from a new perspective.”
Alongside the newly created symphony, the audience will also have the opportunity to hear Engelmann's Requiem, a work that was premiered in 1995 at the Great Guild in Riga, but remained unfinished. At the orchestra's initiative, the final movement of the requiem "In Paradisum" was created by Ēriks Ešenvalds, and it will experience its premiere at this concert, symbolically concluding the opus begun by the master.
““In Paradisum” is my gratitude to Agris Engelmanis for his tireless contribution to Liepāja and Latvia,” says Ēriks Ešenvalds.
Tickets for the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra concerts can be purchased at “Biļešu paradīze” ticket offices.
The Concert is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, State Culture Capital Foundation and the Liepāja City.
