At the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra’s season opener, Juris Karlsons’ symphonic vision for orchestra, “Saules lēktā,” will receive its world premiere. As the composer explains, the piece has a brief motto that also serves as the key to its sound:
“Pa vienam staram,
Pa vienai krāsai.
Tad Pati Saule.
Augšāmcelšanās.”
“Juris Karlsons is a person with an endlessly broad cultural perspective, wit, and a relentless interest in the world of music. His music always contains a vivid idea—a seed, an impulse, a story. In my opinion, symphonic thinking very often blends organically with a sense of the stage, while the freedom of imagination and vision create a dramatic flow. It is no coincidence that vision has become almost a personal genre for Juris Karlson—from “Evening Glow” and “Joseph’s Visions” to “The Mysterious Garden…” and now “Sunrise.” “The work’s brief motto succinctly outlines the progression from a single ray and a single color to the sun’s radiance and the sign of resurrection,” says Guntis Kuzma, artistic director of the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra.
The Liepāja Symphony Orchestra’s collaboration with Juris Karlson has developed over many years. The orchestra premiered the Ninth Liepāja Concert, “Gliese 581”; later, at the orchestra’s suggestion, a suite from the ballet “Antonija #Silmači” was created, followed by the recording of the album “Dances of Life and Death.”
At the first season-opening concert, when Guntis Kuzma took over as principal conductor of the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, “El Cid. Dances of Life and Death,” while the next significant phase of their collaboration was the symphonic vision “The Mysterious Garden….”. “Sunrise” is a continuation of this creative partnership. The work was originally composed as a fantasia for organ, but at the orchestra’s request, the composer created a new symphonic version.
The Liepāja Symphony Orchestra’s concert program for the opening of its 146th season will also feature one of the 20th century’s most powerful symphonic works—Arthur Honegger’s “Liturgical Symphony.” It is a dramatic, existentially charged work composed after World War II. Distinct rhythms, sharp contrasts, and harsh orchestral colors reveal a world on the brink of collapse, while the symphony’s final movement brings a fragile and hard-won—yet still present—sense of hope.
Honegger himself wrote an extensive commentary on this work, clearly pointing out the music’s connection to the horrors of war and the longing for peace—a theme that remains relevant to the entire world even 80 years after the symphony was composed.
Meanwhile, a delightful reunion awaits the orchestra and the audience with German cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, with whom the orchestra will perform Antonín Dvořák’s magnificent Cello Concerto.
This world-renowned German cellist, who regularly performs with the world’s leading orchestras and is known for his brilliant technique and expressive interpretations, won the hearts of our audience and the musicians of the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra at the Liepāja 400th Anniversary International Star Festival, when he performed Camille Saint-Saëns’s virtuosic First Cello Concerto at the festival’s opening concert.
This time, audiences will be able to enjoy Daniela Müller-Schott’s delicate cello playing in one of the cornerstones of the cello repertoire—Dvořák’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, which combines symphonic grandeur, lyrical intimacy, and a dramatic emotional arc, and is closely tied to the composer’s personal life. The lyrical episode in the third movement is an emotional tribute to his wife’s sister, Josefina, who was seriously ill during the composition of the piece and passed away shortly thereafter. The concerto quickly became a staple of the cellist’s repertoire. It has been recorded by nearly all of the most outstanding cellists—from Pablo Casals and Mstislav Rostropovich to Jacqueline du Pré, Yo-Yo Ma, and many others.
Tickets for the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra’s concerts are available through the “Biļešu paradīze” network: https://www.bilesuparadize.lv/lv/organizer/50.
The concerts are supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and the City of Liepāja.
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