🎼 6 – 8 September 2024

This year, the cycle Summer Night Chamber Music will take place on 6, 7, and 8 September, in the luxuriant gladioli blooming season, while the responsibility for the programme this time has been entrusted to the Sinfonietta Rīga artistic collaborator, world-renowned clarinettist, composer and conductor Jörg Widmann. As always, Sinfonietta Rīga welcomes its listeners to a feast of chamber music in the home of the Zuzeum Art Centre.

Often described as the greatest clarinettist of our times, the musical genius that is Jörg Widmann regularly shares the stage with the world’s best orchestras and chamber musicians, does inspiring works with students and brilliantly takes on the roles of conductor and composer. Having first experienced the magical chemistry of playing together with the musicians of Sinfonietta Rīga in 2017, the great talent who may already be referred to the orchestra’s chief guest artist has returned to Latvia with heartfelt joy on several occasions. The fact that the German’s evocative clarinet playing with its eager musicality and unusually natural ease literally enchants listeners, will also be on full display in the present programme of chamber music which he has nurtured together with the musicians of Sinfonietta Rīga.

As a part of the concert programme, a special selection of paintings from the Zuzāns Collection will be exhibited. In this interaction of music and art, every concert guest will have the chance to find their own associative connections. 

The concerts will be narrated by music reviewer Liene Jakovļeva.

In the 6 September programme MOZART’S CLARINET QUINTET AND WIDMANN’S CIRCUS DANCES, alongside the masterpiece of the Vienna classic (with Jörg Widmann himself as soloist), listeners will also get to know the multifaceted chamber works of Widmann, who is in high demand in the most significant concert halls across the world, as composer.

If the thematic accent in the cycle’s opening evening of concerts is placed on a creative dialogue with the genius of Mozart, the concluding programme on 8 September, INSPIRED BY SCHUBERT, will present Widmann’s colour- and transcendental reflection-filled Octet side by side with the monumental octet of the Austrian lyricist Schubert. Also not to be missed is the opportunity to meet Widmann in person before the concert. His passion, impressive erudition and charisma will be an opportunity to step into the artist’s laboratory of sonic images and ideas.

Meanwhile the evening of 7 September is devoted to the programme assembled by the Sinfonietta Rīga String Quartet under the title ATMOSPHERES OF RIGA. LATVIAN MUSIC PREMIERES, shedding light on four contemporary composers from Riga who have polished their mastery in different countries of the world – Anna Ķirse, Kārlis Rērihs, Ernests Vilsons and Krists Auznieks – their opuses weaving together acoustic performance with the possibilities presented by electronics.

Entrance — from 18.00, concert starts at 19.00. Before the concert you can explore the exhibition and enjoy drinks on the Zuzeum Rooftop Terrace. Please, arrive early to get the best seats – they are available without prior reservation.
Tickets – zuzeum.com  and bilesuserviss.lv.
More information Sinfoniettariga.lv

Programme: 

FRIDAY 6 September at 19.00, Zuzeum Art Centre
MOZART’S CLARINET QUINTET AND WIDMANN’S CIRCUS DANCES

Programme: Sergei Prokofiev Overture on Hebrew Themes, op. 34 (Ouvertüre über hebräische Themen op. 34).
🎻 Performed by Agnese Kanniņa (violin), Kristiāna Krūskopa (violin), Artūrs Gailis (viola), Kārlis Klotiņš (cello), Jörg Widmann (clarinet), Lelde Tīrele (piano)

Jörg Widmann Duos for Violin and Cello (Heidelberger Version)

1) No. XIV Capriccio = Heft 2 I

2) No. XXII Lamento = Heft 2 IX

3) No. XXI Valse bavaroise = Heft 2 VIII

4) No. XIII Vier Strophen vom Heimweh = Heft 1 XIII

5) No. XXIV Toccatina all‘ inglese = Heft 2 XI

Performed by Ivars Brīnums (violin) and Dārta Trasune (cello)

Jörg Widmann Quintet for oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon and piano – Pēteris Endzelis (oboe), Mārtiņš Circenis (clarinet), Jānis Semjonovs (bassoon), Artūrs Šults (French horn), Lelde Tīrele (piano)

Jörg Widmann Zirkustanz No. XI – Bayerisch-babylonischer Marsch – Lelde Tīrele (piano)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 581 – Agnese Kanniņa (violin), Kristiāna Krūskopa (violin), Artūrs Gailis (viola), Kārlis Klotiņš (cello), Jörg Widmann (clarinet)

✨ Often described as the greatest clarinettist of our times and just as frequently compared to the 18th century universal musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or romantic lyricist Franz Schubert, Jörg Widmann literally lives and breathes music. It is chamber music that the multifaceted German talent calls his greatest passion, revealing its mysterious depths and alluring heights together with such world-renowned performing artists as András Schiff, Daniel Barenboim and Heinz Holliger or Hélène Grimaud, Lisa Batiashvili and the Hagen Quartet. Meanwhile, in the opening concert of the cycle Summer Night Chamber Music Widmann will team up with the musicians of Sinfonietta Rīga. They will also interpret several opuses composed by Widmann himself and never previously performed in Latvia. Alongside fragments from the cycle of chamber music Circus Dances and 24 Duos for Violin and Cello, listeners will have the opportunity to get to know Widnmann’s Quintet. The artist has drawn inspiration for this musical mini-drama from the delicate sonic artistry of his revered Mozart. And how would it be possible to do without a masterpiece from the Vienna classic – the lightly melancholic and elegantly inventive Clarinet Quintet (with Jörg Widmann as soloist). And placed alongside this informal communion of artists is Sergei Prokofiev’s Overture on Hebrew Themes with its colourful rhythms and melodies.

SATURDAY 7 September at 19.00, Zuzeum Art Centre
ATMOSPHERES OF RIGA. LATVIAN MUSIC PREMIERES

Programme: premieres of string quartets by Krists Auznieks, Ernests Vilsons and Kārlis Rērihs

Anna Fišere Mundus invisibilis Part I “The Invisible World” and Part II “Cleanroom” for string quartet and electronics

🎻 Performed by Agnese Kanniņa (violin), Kristiāna Krūskopa (violin), Artūrs Gailis (viola), Kārlis Klotiņš (cello)

Steeled by the winds of Liepāja and The Hague, the young talent Ernests Vilsons finds inspiration for his new work in the nuances of the squeaking of swings heard in the courtyards of Ķengarags and Vecmīlgrāvis housing estates, while in her cycle of string quartets Mundus invisiblis the refined sound magician Anna Fišere proposes a creative investigation of the secrets of the invisible world, inviting listeners to dive into the immensely captivating dynamics of the subterranean networks of mycelium as well as the fascinating microcosms of experiments in quantum physics. Aptly colouring the Latvian musical landscape with tones learned in the cultures of distant lands, Krists Auznieks has found inspiration for his cycle of string quartets Rose of Vision in Rainer Maria Rilke’s philosophical and existential ruminations in Duino Elegies, meanwhile Kārlis Rērihs, who is not only a talented French hornist, but also soundsmith, in his personal story about coming of age, or A Smirk from the Microworld (Vīpsnis no mikropasaules), invites reflection on the interplay of contemporary society’s psycho-emotional states and their far-reaching consequences. As diverse as the range of interests and sonic handwriting of these four composers from Riga is the repertoire of the Sinfonietta Rīga String Quartet, which has performed together for almost two decades, giving pride of place to the most recent Latvian creations and masterpieces of contemporary music.

SUNDAY 8 September at 19.00, Zuzeum Art Centre
INSPIRED BY SCHUBERT

At 18.00 Pre-concert conversation with Jörg Widmann in Zuzeum guest room

Programme: Franz Schubert Octet in F major, D 803

Jörg Widmann Octet (Oktett)

🎻 Performed by Magdalēna Geka (violin), Antti Kortelainen (violin), Ineta Abakuka (viola), Madara Norbūte (cello), Jānis Stafeckis (contrabass), Mārtiņš Circenis (clarinet), Jānis Semjonovs (bassoon), Artūrs Šults (French horn)

✨ The musical architecture of the concluding programme of the cycle Summer Night Chamber Music is carried by two colossi – Austrian lyricist Franz Schubert and his modern-day German colleague Jörg Widmann. Where Schubert’s music takes the tone of the dusky boundary between joy and sadness, Widmann’s works virtually pull the listener in and strike a profoundly emotional chord. This is also demonstrated by the current programme, placing side by side Schubert’s monumental Octet, which was composed two centuries ago, with Widmann’s two decades old opus for an identical set of instruments. If Schubert’s piece suggests echoes from the cheerful chatter of Viennese cafés, a passionate hunt amid idyllic nature or the even earlier Singspiele and the pearl of vocal music that is Der Wanderer, Widmann’s Octet is a tribute to the great romantic, imbued with respectful admiration and melancholy, reflecting in particular on the unsurpassed melodic talent of the outstanding lyricist. Also not to be missed is the opportunity to meet Jörg Widmann in person before the concert. His passion, impressive erudition and charisma will be an opportunity to step into the artist’s laboratory of sonic images and ideas.

Tickets – zuzeum.com  and bilesuserviss.lv.

🎟️ Concert tickets are available in several price categories:
Standart concert ticket: 25 EUR
Concert ticket with discount (students, seniors): 15 EUR
Concert series subscription (all four concerts): 60 EUR
Concert series with discount (students, seniors): 40 EUR

Ticket prices at the day of the concert at the Zuzeum ticket counter:
Standart concert ticket: 28 EUR
Concert ticket with discount (students, seniors): 18 EUR

Tickets are limited. Purchased tickets cannot be refunded or exchanged.

The entrance doors are opened at 18.00. The concert starts at 19.00. Free car parking is available in the event area, but the number of parking spaces is limited. Seats at the event are not numbered, so we invite you to arrive on time to take the most comfortable place!

🍷 Zuzeum Cafe and Bar will be available at the event. Entrance with food and drinks purchased outside the Zuzeum is prohibited. 

🔗 More information Sinfoniettariga.lv

Supporters: VKKF, KM, LR3 KLASIKA, MŪZIKAS SAULE, RĪGAS LAIKS, SWH and Embassy of Germany in Latvia.
Organisers: Zuzeum, Latvijas Koncerti, Sinfonietta Rīga Foundation. 

*By attending this event, you agree to have photos or videos of you or your children taken for Zuzeum marketing purposes. You can refuse to be photographed or filmed by informing the photographer or camera person