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North American Premiere of Pēteris Vasks's Symphony No. 2

Feb. 01, 2019

On February 1, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, led by Daniel Raiskin, performed the North American premiere of Pēteris Vasks's Symphony No. 2  as part of the Winnipeg New Music Festival.

John Storgårds, conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, who recorded this work for Ondine, notes:

"Pēteris Vasks is the voice of Latvia, his music 'sorrow in tones'. In his Symphony No. 2 composed in 1998-99 he laments the suffering of his people. The theme of his music is the tension between good and evil, optimism and fear. The dramatic fortissimo beginning of his Symphony No. 2, a reference to the 'evil world', is balanced by references to nature and the chant of the birds, a symbol of the 'ideal world'. Sensibly measured percussion effects are in contrast to melancholic solos of the woodwinds over mystically buzzing sounds of the strings. The Latvian composer writes about the folk-song-like melody at the end of the 35-minute work: 'It is a hint of weightless worries ... I cannot leave my audience without a gleam of hope, a suggestion of eternity.' With his works that appeal directly by their simplicity, expressiveness and wistful melodies, Vasks is among the composers of the former Eastern bloc who are known throughout the world."


Listen to Pēteris Vasks's Violin Concerto (1996-1997) here: 



(Violin Concerto "Distant Light"; Anthony Marwood, violin; Norwegian Chamber Orchestra)

In addition, the Nordic Museum in Seattle presents a Portrait Concert of Vasks's music on February 10. The program includes a number of chamber works, including the United States premiere of a new version of Vasks’s Plainscapes for women’s voices, violin and cello, inspired by the plains that are a dominant feature of the Latvian countryside. 

To learn more about Pēteris Vasks, visit schott-music.com.

Pēteris Vasks
Symphony No. 2 (1998-1999)
for orchestra
3(1.afl, 3.pic).3(3.eh).3(3.bcl).3 (3.cbn)-4.3.3.1-timp-3perc-hp·pno(cel)-str
35'


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