Festival Klaaspärlimäng / Pass

Thu July 6th at 7 pm St John’s Church; Tartu

TWILIGHT OF SENSES

Marcel Johannes Kits (cello), Maarika Järvi (flute), Ingely Laiv-Järvi (oboe), Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta, conductor Neeme Järvi

In programme: Kristjan Järvi (premiere), Haydn, Holst

The opening concert of the Glasperlenspiel will host the absolute top cadre of Estonian music, who have introduced and promoted their national music culture all over the world. Marcel Johannes Kits, the soloist in Haydn’s famous cello concerto, belongs to the most promising cellists of his generation. His high artistic level is proved by the 3rd place at the very prestigious Queen Elisabeth competition (2022) and prizes at many other international competitions. Among the last concerts of Kits, there have been performances with the Belgian National Orchestra, the Estonian Festival Orchestra and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. The Järvi dynasty, the world’s most famous family of musicians of Estonian origin, is represented at the concert in every way – under the baton of Maestro Neeme Järvi, Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta premieres a brand new piece by Kristjan Järvi; members of the dynasty can also be heard in the role of soloist and orchestra player. In addition to Kristjan Järvi’s new composition, one of the evening’s higlights is undoubtedly Haydn’s legendary Farewell Symphony with its spectacular ending adding theatricality to the splendor programme.

Fri July 7th at 7 pm St John’s Church, Tartu

UPSTREAM: PRINCE ANDRÉ VOLKONSKY – 90

Alexei Lubimov (piano, Austria), Helen Lokuta (mezzo-soprano), Prezioso, Peeter Volkonski

In programme: Volkonsky, Haydn, Schubert, Sylvestrov, Pärt

The festival’s second concert pays tribute to dissidents, to those who have dared to swim upstream. The Russian state regime – especially relevant in the current circumstances – has given birth to a large number of freethinkers, several of whom have also been connected to Estonia. The concert is dedicated to composer prince André Volkonsky, the father of Estonian musician, actor and director Peeter Volkonski, who in addition to composing was an outstanding harpsichord player and connoisseur of early music. The audience has an extraordinary opportunity to become a part of Volkonsky’s musical heritage as well as his thoughts on music, presented by his son Peeter Volkonski. The main performer of the evening is world-famous pianist Alexei Lubimov, currently residing in France, who has been forced to leave his homeland years ago. The works of like-minded contemporaries Arvo Pärt and Valentyn Silvestrov, included in the program, also fit exceptionally well into dissident context.

Fri July 7th at 10 pm St John’s Church, Tartu

PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION

Johan Randvere (piano, comments), Anna Litvinova (sand painting)

In programme: Mussorgsky, Eller

Modest Mussorgsky’s immortal piano cycle Pictures at an Exhibition has inspired countless composers and performers and laid foundation for numerous arrangements and adaptations. At this year’s Glasperlenspiel, Mussorgsky’s colorful music performed by brilliant pianist Johan Randvere will be seen in a new way through the enchanting sand paintings created on the spot by artist Anna Litvinova. In this way, history repeats itself in an inverted form – if Mussorgsky was inspired by Viktor Hartmann’s paintings while composing, now Litvinova’s sand paintings are based on Randvere’s playing. The meeting of visual art and music fits also into the Glasperlenspiel’s main concept of combining different art forms. Johan Randvere is an award-winning pianist who has performed in concert halls such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Chan Centre in Vancouver, Puccini Hall in Milan and others and has been soloist in front of the Estonian leading orchestras. The works of Anna Litvinova, an Estonian artist with Russian roots, have been displayed in many galleries at both group and solo exhibitions. Her paintings have also been acquired by the Estonian Art Museum for permanent exhibition. As a color-sensitive and bold creator, Litvinova’s field of activity is wide; in addition to paintings, she is also known for her attractive design for album covers.

Sat July 8th at 7 pm St John’s Church, Tartu

MAGIC STRINGS

Kremerata Baltica, Rémi Boucher (guitar, Canada), Džeraldas Bidva (violin, Lithuania), Stella Zaķe (violin, Latvia)

In programme: Bach, Vivaldi, Giuliani, Ligeti

The prestigious orchestra of the Baltic countries Kremerata Baltica, which celebrated great anniversaries last year, will once again delight the audience of the Glasperlenspiel with its splendid performance and meaningful program. This time, Kremerata collaborates with the world-famous Canadian guitar virtuoso Rémi Boucher, whose technical mastery and distinctive playing style, as well as innovative thinking, expands the guitar’s expressive possibilities. Boucher has won all major international guitar competitions in less than two years; he has commissioned new works for guitar and has given recitals and performed as soloist with symphony orchestras around the world. The brilliant works of Baroque era’s masters Bach and Vivaldi are in the concert program alongside with the music by Mauro Giuliani, the leading guitar virtuoso of the 19th century, and the compositions by one of the best-known representatives of avant-garde music György Ligeti.

Sun July 9th at 10 pm St John’s Church, Tartu

STABAT MATER / MUSICA BALTICA & MEDITERRANEA

Kajsa Dahlbäck (soprano, Finland), Helsinki Baroque

In programme: Buxtehude, Meder, Victoria, Cancionero de Upsala

The players of a highly professional early music ensemble Helsinki Baroque together with the outstanding soprano Kajsa Dahlbäck, bring to the festival an interesting cross-section of the music from 16th and 17th centuries, combining works created in the Baltic Sea cultural space with the musical heritage from the Mediterranean region. An important place in the program belongs to the significant from the Estonian point of view composer Johann Valentin Meder, who worked for some time in Tallinn and wrote one of the first German operas here – Die beständige Argenia. Kajsa Dahlbäck is an experienced performer of early, classical and contemporary music, who has been soloist in front of the leading Finnish orchestras and performed at numerous festivals. The early music ensemble Earthly Angels, led by Dahlbäck, has released two highly acclaimed CDs and since 2013, the soprano is the artistic director of an early music festival Vaasa Baroque. Already playing together for twenty years, Helsinki Baroque has achieved international recognition, especially as a performer of German and Baltic music, and has given concerts in the most prestigious halls, such as the Cologne Philharmonic, Tokyo Suntory Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and others.

Mon July 10th at 7 pm St John’s Church, Tartu

CURIOSITIES!

Albin Paulus (Jew’s harp, “Billy goat horn”), Christoph Angerer (viola d’amore), Peter Frisée (harpsichord), Concilium musicum Wien (Austria)

In programme: Haydn, Albrechtsberger, Weißmann

The joint concert of an outstanding Austrian ensemble Concilium musicum Wien and the virtuoso of Jew’s harp Albin Paulus is anything but ordinary and boring. The lively program brings to the audience works of classical music for unexpectedly humorous instrument combinations. For example, one can hear a concerto written for the Jew’s harp by the Austrian composer Johann Georg Albrechtsberger. Charismatic Albin Paulus is a multi-talent who, in addition to mastering the Jew’s harp, is also a bagpipe player, experimental yodeller and real voice acrobat. In reviews, he has been described as a genius with crazy creative power. Playing only period instruments, Concilium musicum Wien’s repertoire spans from the Baroque era to the 19th century dance music; it is also known for rediscovering and promoting the work of neglected composers. The ensemble’s high-level performance art has been captured on several CDs, radio recordings and TV productions. Mozart Society and the City of Vienna has awarded the collective with the Mozart Interpretation Prize „Flötenuhr“ for the recording of Mozart’s church sonatas.

Mon July 10th at 10 pm St John’s Church, Tartu

INSPIRED BY VIENNA

Elisabeth Plank (harp, Austria)

In programme: Zamara, Spohr, Kowalsky (premiere), Parish-Alvars

If someone looks for the musical capital of Europe, Vienna is undoubtedly worthy of the title – a city that has been home and place for composition of countless great figures, from Mozart and Beethoven to Mahler and Schoenberg. In addition to these most well-known names, there are many others in the list of Viennese composers whose valuable music is waiting to be discovered. Thus the program of this concert is centered around the composers who worked and are working in Vienna in different times and their solo music created for a rather unusual instrument. Among them, a new work by the young composer Annamaria Kowalsky, the first scholarship holder of the Arvo Pärt Centre’s residency programme, will be premiered. Harp solo concerts are not frequent events, but Austria’s rising classical music star, the young harpist Elisabeth Plank, convincingly proves the soloist potential and versatile possibilities of this instrument. Plank, who made her debut at the Vienna Konzerthaus at the age of 17, has won numerous international competitions, released three highly acclaimed solo albums and is the first harpist in history who was selected as an ambassador for the New Austrian Sound of Music program for 2023–24.

Tue July 11th at 7 pm St John’s Church, Tartu

CARMEN

Giunter Percussion (Lithuania), Džeraldas Bidva (violin, Lithuania), Tadas Motiečius (accordion, Lithuania), Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, conductor Modestas Pitrėnas

In programme: Bizet-Shchedrin, Bartulis, Pelēcis, Malcys

The Glasperlenspiel ends with an energetic and passionate finale centered around Bizet’s legendary opera Carmen and the music from Shchedrin’s ballet Carmen Suite, inspired by it. The piece that was dedicated to Shchedrin’s wife, world-known ballet dancer Maya Plisetskaya, became the composer’s most famous work. At the final concert, the rich sound world of Shchedrin’s music as well as pieces by Lithuanian and Latvian composers will be performed by the best Lithuanian ensembles and artists: Giunter Percussion, the first ensemble of its kind in Lithuania; accordionist Tadas Motiečius, laureate of more than thirty competitions; Džeraldas Bidva, concertmaster of Kremerata Baltica, and the world-renowned Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra. The concert will be conducted by the internationally recognized conductor Modestas Pitrėnas, who is a welcome guest on both opera stages and concert halls. Pitrėnas is the chief conductor and artistic director of the Lithuanian Symphony Orchestra and from the season 2018/19, also the chief conductor of the St Gallen Symphony Orchestra.