Elton John called Rufus Wainwright ‘the greatest songwriter on the planet,’ while David Bowie has described him as ‘one of the great writers.’ Wainwright’s albums Want One and Want Two are globally iconic – Want One was picked as the best album of its year by Paste Magazine, and Rolling Stone listed it among the top five albums of 2003. Bowie hailed Wainwright’s song ‘Dinner at Eight’ as the ‘best father/son song he knew.’

The 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 seasons marked 20 years since the release of the critically acclaimed Want One and Want Two. The concert program Want Symphonic was created in honor of this twentieth anniversary. In it, the ‘breathtaking and eccentric opulence’ (according to Rolling Stone Germany) of the original songs was translated into magnificent symphonic arrangements by Sally Herbert (Woodkid, Florence + the Machine) and Max Moston (Anohni and the Johnsons).

Want Symphonic is a sonic Shangri-La for 60 classical musicians, drummer Matt Johnson (Jeff Buckley, St. Vincent) and Wainwright’s ‘velvety truffle of his voice’ (according to London Times).

Wainwright has worked with leading orchestras across the course of his career (including the San Francisco Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, the Gulbenkian Orchestra, the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, and the Britten Sinfonia), and the exciting concert program provides a new sound for these iconic albums.

Wainwright says: ‘Want One and Two are maybe the most epic of my albums. They are the two sides of a coin or better my personality, the male and the female, the knight in shining armor and the innocent maiden, ecstasy and restraint, glory and doom, decay and creation, the mature and the child. I am excited to bring these songs to a new level with all new symphonic settings. There is nothing more exciting than singing in front of a huge orchestra.’

‘This album is also a glorious musical adventure with Wainwright’s vocals – sweet and unerringly hopeful – reaching out so disarmingly that they make you feel at home amid even the most ‘daunting’ of instrumental moments,’ says the LA Times.

Wainwright has performed the Want Symphonic program on the most legendary classical music stages and collaborated with the most outstanding orchestras, including the BBC Proms Festival in London with the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; he has also performed with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and many others.

The concert is implemented by the foundation “Nodibinājums Liepāja 2027” with financial support from the Liepāja City Municipality, the South Kurzeme Municipality, and the Kuldīga Municipality. Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture. The Liepāja 2027 program is supported by its main partner in environmental education and sustainability, AS “CleanR Grupa”, main partner in air mobility and international communications, AS “Air Baltic Corporation”, partner in financial literacy and business growth, AS “SEB banka”, land mobility partner, SIA “Lux Express Latvia”, partner in legal matters, SIA “Sorainen ZAB”, maritime mobility and international communication partner, SIA “Stena Line” and car rental partner, “SIXT”. Media partners – VSIA “Latvijas Sabiedriskais medijs”, SIA “Žurnāls Santa”, SIA “Tvnet grupa”, AS “Kurzemes Radio”.

Artists:
Rufus WAINWRIGHT – vocals, guitar, piano
The Festival Orchestra
Matt JOHNSON – drums
Conductor Normunds ŠNĒ