LNSO announces concerts for the first half of the upcoming season

Press release, 23 May 2023

This autumn, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO) will commence its 98th concert season, and already in May, it is pleased to announce ticket sales for the first half of the new season. Led by esteemed conductors such as Tarmo Peltokoski, Kristiina Poska, Andris Poga, Jean-Claude Casadesus, the orchestra will present magnificent symphonic masterpieces. Joining them on stage will be a line-up of exceptional soloists, including renowned opera singers, pianists Georgijs Osokins and Vestards Šimkus, violinists Gidon Kremer and Kristīne Balanas, and other outstanding instrumentalists. As always, the LNSO has also taken care of chamber music enthusiasts, with tickets and subscriptions for children's and youth concert cycles already available since spring.

The 98th season will commence at the Great Guild on Friday, 6 October, and Saturday, 7 October, under the baton of Tarmo Peltokoski, Music and Artistic Director of the LNSO. The opening concert will feature the debut of the orchestra's Composer-in-Residence for the season, Ēriks Ešenvalds, with his concerto Visions of Arctic: Night for clarinet and symphony orchestra. Clarinettist and LNSO musician Anna Gāgane will shine as the soloist. Meanwhile, the second part of the concert will present a concert performance of Richard Wagner's opera Die Walküre, Act 1, featuring Finnish opera singers Hannakaisa Nyrönen (soprano), Jyrki Anttila (tenor), and Erik Rousi (bass). The second season opening concert on October 7 is included in the LNSO Autumn Subscription 2023*.

The LNSO has also prepared a treat for chamber music enthusiasts. On Thursday, 26 October, at 7 PM, the Great Guild will host the concert LNSO Chamber Music. Songs of the World. The programme will bring together beloved French soprano Perrine Madoeuf and the LNSO Piano Trio, featuring violinist Indulis Cintiņš, cellist Dace Zālīte-Zilberte, and pianist Mārtiņš Zilberts. The repertoire will encompass works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Georgs Pelēcis, Roger Quilter, and Lera Auerbach.

On Friday, 27 October, at 7 PM, the Great Guild will host the concert LNSO, Emilia Hoving, and Vestards Šimkus. Under the baton of Finland's rising conductor Emilia Hoving, for the first time in Latvia the orchestra will perform Suita Rustica for symphony orchestra by the 20th‑century Czech composer Vítězslava Kaprálová. The concert will also feature the Latvian premiere of the Third Piano Concerto by Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů, with pianist Vestards Šimkus as the soloist. In addition, the program will incorporate Sergei Prokofiev's suite from the ballet Cinderella.

On Friday, 24 November, at 7 PM, the orchestra's Principal Guest Conductor, Kristiina Poska, will return to the stage of the Great Guild in the concert LNSO, Kristiina Poska, and Georgijs Osokins. Together with the audience favourite pianist Georgijs Osokins, this performance will feature Serge Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto, while the second part of the concert will showcase Danish composer Carl Nielsen's Fourth Symphony.

On Friday, 8 December, at 7 PM, the Great Guild will host a special tribute concert to Maestro Mariss Jansons in celebration of his 80th birthday. The concert, titled LNSO and Gidon Kremer. Dedication to Mariss Jansons, will be conducted by Andris Poga, with the solo performed by the legendary violinist Gidon Kremer. The programme will include Sofia Gubaidulina's concerto for violin and orchestra Offertorium, which was originally composed for Gidon Kremer, as well as Johannes Brahms' Second Symphony.

On Friday, 15 December, at 7 PM, at the Great Guild, the audience will be treated to a reunion with Tarmo Peltokoski, the orchestra's Music and Artistic Director, in the concert LNSO, Peltokoski, and Finnish Music Gems. The orchestra will be joined on stage by Finnish violinist Tami Pohjola for a performance of Esa-Pekka Salonen's Violin Concerto. The concert will also feature Jean Sibelius' Lemminkäinen suite.

The first half of the orchestra's season will be brought to a close with the LNSO's traditional New Year's Eve concerts, which this year will showcase French music. The LNSO New Year's Eve Concert. French Music Feast will be performed three times: on 28 December at 7 PM at the Cēsis Concert Hall, and on 29 and 30 December at 7 PM at the Great Guild. Distinguished French conductor Jean-Claude Casadesus will lead the programme, and the orchestra will be joined on stage by acclaimed Latvian violinist Kristīne Balanas to perform the solo. The concert programme will delight with Hector Berlioz's Le carnaval romain, Ernest Chausson's Poème, Maurice Ravel's La valse, Claude Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, Camille Saint-Saëns' Introduction et rondo capriccioso, and Igor Stravinsky's The Firebird Suite.

Information about LNSO concerts for children and the youth will be announced separately.

*The LNSO Autumn Subscription includes admission to four symphony concerts at the Great Guild:

On Saturday, 7 October, at 7 PM: LNSO Season Opening Concert;

On Friday, 27 October, at 7 PM: LNSO, Emilia Hoving, and Vestards Šimkus;

On Friday, 24 November, at 7 PM: LNSO, Kristiina Poska, and Georgijs Osokins;

On Friday, 15 December, at 7 PM: LNSO, Peltokoski, and Finnish Music Gems.

Tickets are available at Biļešu paradīze outlets and online at https://www.bilesuparadize.lv/en/organizer/283.