Peteris Vasks Festival

Pēteris Vasks is the most performed Latvian composer abroad. His music is played by the world’s leading musicians in the world’s major concert halls. Aware of the status of the composer’s oeuvre as a huge national treasure, Cēsis Concert Hall has launched a unique festival dedicated to the music and creative personality of Pēteris Vasks.

The April of Pēteris Vasks’ Music Festival takes place annually in April, in the composer’s birth month, and it is Maestro himself who curates its content ‒ both selecting the pieces for the concert programmes and inviting outstanding contemporary performing artists.

Alongside the music of Pēteris Vasks, the festival programme features scores by like-minded fellow composers, highlighting the musical palette of the Baltic and Nordic countries.

On April 12 and 13, the annual spring festival "April of Pēteris Vasks’ Music" will take place at the Cēsis Concert Hall. Saturday’s program features world-renowned violinist Gidon Kremer and the chamber orchestra Kremerata Baltica in a moving performance titled "Viatore", where alongside works by Pēteris Vasks, music by Bach, Britten, Kancheli, and Pärt will be performed. On Sunday, in opera singer Maija Kovaļevska’s solo concert, gems of Latvian vocal classics and music by Pēteris Vasks will shine, including the Latvian premiere of the chamber cantata "Latvia". Additionally, there will be pre-concert talks and the opening of the art exhibition “The Gift of Existence” by Latvian painter Biruta Delle.

12. April, Saturday - 19:00GIDON KREMER. KREMERATA BALTICA. VIATORE

Gidon Kremer, violin

Elza Siliņa, violin

Soloists of the chamber orchestra Kremerata Baltica:Alīna Vižine, violinGiedre Dirvanauskaite, celloKristers Šīmanis, celloChamber Orchestra Kremerata BalticaProgram: Pēteris Vasks, Arvo Pärt, Benjamin Britten, Giya Kancheli, Johann Sebastian Bach

13. April, Sunday - 17:00MAIJA KOVAĻEVSKA AND LATVIAN VOCAL CHAMBER MUSIC

Maija Kovaļevska, soprano

Agnese Egliņa, piano

Dita Krenberga, flute

Kristers Šīmanis, cello

Guntars Freibergs, percussion