Dzenitis, Buravickis, Leimane, Paidere Sinfonietta Rīga & Normunds Šnē

• Andris Dzenītis (b. 1978):
• 1 Dzenītis: Euphoria 06:07
• Platons Buravickis (b. 1989): Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra:
• 2 Buravickis: Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra: "Plastmasas temperatura" (Temperature of Plastics) 21:51
• Linda Leimane (b. 1989):
• 3 Leimane: Ray-Bows 17:58
• Ruta Paidere (b. 1977):
• 4 Paidere: Tempera 14:32
• Total Runtime 01:00:28

Info for Dzenitis, Buravickis, Leimane, Paidere

The Sinfonietta Rīga state chamber orchestra was founded relatively recently, in 2006. This selection of compositions written for the orchestra and its conductor, Normunds Šnē, are even younger: Ruta Paidere’s Tempera is from 2012, Andris Dzenītis composed Euphoria in 2017, Aigars Raumanis and Sinfonietta Rīga first performed the Temperature of Plastics concerto for saxophone and chamber orchestra by Platons Buravickis in 2019, and Linda Leimane’s Ray-Bows also dates to 2019, although it premiered only in 2021. In the context of cultural history, fifteen years is as brief as a breath of air. But in reality, it can be a long time, especially in theatre, where everything can change in a matter of fifteen years. And likewise, of course, in cinema and dance. But nor does music lag behind, as evidenced by the large number of new works created for the Sinfonietta Rīga chamber orchestra. In a span of fifteen years, promising and provocative young modernists become classics, and they are joined by a new generation of composers; at the same time, it turns out that the teachers of the aforementioned classics are also still actively working. In this sense, too, the selection of composers represented on this album is significant: two of them are of the generation of avantgardists born in the 1970s, while the other two came to prominence approximately fifteen years later.

"Four recent works by Latvian composers written for Sinfonietta Riga and displaying the full range of brilliance and complexity in their orchestral writing.

Sinfonietta Riga is a relatively young ensemble, founded in Latvia in 2006. On this disc from the Latvian label Skani, Sinfonietta Riga and conductor Normunds Šnē perform four works written for the ensemble by Latvian composers, Ruta Paidere’s Tempera, Andris Dzenītis' Euphoria, Platons Buravickis' The Temperature of Plastics with saxophonist Aigars Raumanis and Linda Leimane’s Ray-Bows.

For much of the 20th and 21st centuries, music in the Baltic countries has remained intimately intertwined with the complexities of history. The composers represented on this disc are amongst the generations that grew up able to work freely, without persecution by totalitarian regimes or clashes with even older political ideologies. In fact, two of the composers on the disc were born around the time that Latvia regained its independence. Not that musical life was all sweetness and light. Political ideology in the newly independent Latvia saw the profession of composer as almost completely superfluous and unnecessary, official rhetoric, said the country already had one composer – as well as one famous pianist, one award-winning violinist, and so on – so it did not need any more. For this reason, many of the composers from these early generations found themselves needing to live and work elsewhere.

All four pieces on the album are a world away from the minimalism and spirituality embraced by Latvian composers such as Rihards Dubra. All four works here celebrate a sort of maximalism and a joy in complexity of texture and rhythm, along with technical challenge.

The disc begins with a work by Andris Dzenītis (born 1978). His Euphoria, is an overture for chamber orchestra written in 2017 in honour of the teacher and composer Pēteris Plakidis (1947-2017). It is a six minute work full of rhythm and energy, colour and movement with a sense of constant motion and multiple moving parts.

Platons Buravickis' concerto The Temperature of Plastics was written for saxophonist Aigars Raumanis and represents a challenge both to performer and listener. The solo part uses a number of extended techniques in the instrument, as well as being a challenge to stamina as well. There is an uncompromising element to Buravickis' music here, and an anger. The title of the concerto seems to refer to the ongoing challenge of environmental pollution, but Buravickis' response is anything but New Age. From the very beginning the orchestral writing is full of colour, movement and energy with multilayered writing ensuring that there is a great deal going on. The spiky writing for the soloist only goes to emphasize the sense of anger, and the work rises at the end to a profoundly intense climax. This piece, at over 20 minutes long, is a terrific tour de force.

Linda Leimane's Ray-Bows seems to have been written at the same time as Leimane was composer-in-residence with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. It begins with fast, mobile layers of music, lots of colours creating a sense of dramatic narrative with some truly vivid moments. Again, this is an orchestral tour de force.

Ruth Paidere's Tempera takes a very different approach, yet is in its way no less complex. Written for string orchestra, the work at first seems placidly sustained, but Paidere's use of constantly shifting microtones brings an eerie sense of textures in constant, uneasy flux." (Robert Hugill, planethugill.com)

Sinfonietta Rīga
Normunds Šnē, conductor
Aigars Raumanis, saxophone

Aigars Raumanis
is a prize-winning young saxophonist from Latvia, he has premiered significant works of Latvian composers - Platons Buravickis, Andris Dzenītis, Pauls Dambis and others. He has received The Great Music Award - “Young Artist of the Year 2019” -which is the highest prize given by the Latvian state in the field of music.

Aigars has graduated Jazeps Medins Riga Music Secondary School (in class of Oskars Petrauskis) and obtained bachelor's degree at Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music (prof. Artis Sīmanis). He has studied at Helsinki Music academy (Jonataan Rautiola) and currently is at Strasbourg Music Academy in masters program with Philippe Geiss.

Aigars is a prize-winner of many competitions in Latvia and Europe – 1st place in Stockholm International Music Competition (Sweden, 2019), Grand Prix in European Saxophone Forum competition (Poland, 2018), 3rd place in International Interpretation Contest for Saxophone (Romania, 2018), 1st place in eMuse International Online Music Competition (Greece, 2018), 1st place in “Inese Galante Competition” (Latvia, 2015), 1st place in competition “Saxophonia” (Latvia, 2017), 1st place in the competition for Concert Band Conductors (Latvia, 2016).

Aigars Raumanis as a soloist has performed with Chamber Orchestra Sinfonietta Riga, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Latvian National Armed Forces Orchestra, Latvian Radio Bigband  and Lithuanian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, and as a member of the Latvian National Opera orchestra, Liepaja Symphony Orchestra, Festival Orchestra of Baltic Musical Seasons and others. As soloist and member of ensembles and orchestras has performed in USA, France, Finland, Lithuania , Estonia, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Greece, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden.

Sinfonietta Rīga
Joy of learning and discovery of new horizons are the traits that best describe the Grammy-winning State Chamber Orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga. Since its foundation in 2006, the orchestra's artistic director and chief conductor has been Normunds Šnē. Sinfonietta Rīga musicians are young, erudite and bursting with creativity. They are assiduous students of the musical heritage of the First and Second Viennese School and eager presenters of the musical phenomena and styles of the 20th century, while continuing to look for the brightest revelations in contemporary music scene. Among the ambitions of the orchestra is promotion and development of chamber symphony genre in Latvian music, therefore twice a year Sinfonietta Rīga commissions a new chamber symphony score to contemporary Latvian composers.

Sinfonietta Rīga often collaborates with guest conductors, and has staged thematically and stylistically varied programmes together with Paavo Järvi, Heinz Holliger, John Storgårds, Christoph Poppen, Olari Elts, Juha Kangas and Tõnu Kaljuste.

Among the brilliant soloists that have performed together with Sinfonietta Rīga are classical singers Julia Lezhneva and Inga Kalna; pianists Kristian Bezuidenhout, Nelson Goerner and Yevgeny Sudbin; internationally renowned Latvian organist Iveta Apkalna; violinists Isabelle Faust, Kolja Blacher, Baiba Skride, Pekka Kuusisto and Thomas Zehtmair; cellists Sol Gabetta and Jean-Guihen Queyras; and the members of the Berlin-based Artemis Quartet – violinist Vineta Sareika and violist Gregor Sigl, as well as Ukrainian violist Maxim Rysanov. The orchestra has also enjoyed collaborations with clarinetist and composer Jörg Widmann; trombone soloist Christian Lindberg; percussionists Martin Grubinger, Evelyn Glennie and Peter Erskine; accordionist Ksenija Sidorova; Argentinian bandoneon player Marcelo Nisinman; oboe soloist Alexei Ogrintchouk; and early music experts Andrew Lawrence-King and Enrico Onofri. Over the years, the orchestra has developed a close creative friendship with Latvian Radio Choir and its conductor Sigvards Kļava. Together, they stage several musical programmes each year, including first performances of Latvian sacred music.

Along with active concert life in Latvia and the other two Baltic States, Sinfonietta Rīga has performed in the Elbphilharmonie and the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, the Kölner Philharmonie in Cologne, the Herkulessaal in Munich and the Alte Oper in Frankfurt. In Netherlands, the orchestra has performed several times, both in Amsterdam's Muziekgebouw and De Doelen in Rotterdam; and it has also conquered the hearts of audiences in St. Petersburg Philharmonia and the Lincoln Center in New York.

Sinfonietta Rīga is a frequent guest in festivals of various sizes in Latvia and abroad. In July 2016, led by maestro Paavo Järvi, the orchestra opened the 6th Pärnu Music Festival, and has visited the prominent Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm several times. In February 2017, together with Latvian Radio Choir, Sinfonietta Rīga had its debut at the Elbphilharmonie, performing a retrospective of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt's works at the introvert art festival Lux Aeterna; in June 2018 both collectives came together to perform the same programme again, this time at the Kissinger Sommer festival in the spa town Bad Kissingen in Bavaria. To celebrate the centenary of the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia, in October 2018 Sinfonietta Rīga participated for the first time in the Cafe Budapest festival, and together with accordionist Ksenija Sidorova gave concerts in Malmö, Gothenburg and Örebro concert halls.

The orchestra began its 15th anniversary season together with the award-winning Belgian violinist Mark Bouchkov, laureate of the Queen Elizabeth Competition and International Tchaikovsky Competition. In October, Sinfonietta Riga had another long-awaited rendezvous with one of the most prominent figures in contemporary European music, 'Mozart of the 21st century' - clarinettist and composer Jörg Widmann. In November, the orchestra will welcome one of the past decade's most acclaimed pianists Yevgeny Sudbin. To celebrate the anniversary year of Ludwig van Beethoven, Sinfonietta Rīga and State Academic Choir Latvija, led by Estonian conductor Tõnu Kaljuste, are staging his majestic Missa solemnis.

In 2021, the season will continue with the concerts of the great American violinist Midori, the concertmaster of Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, violinist Florian Donderer and the versatile Swedish soprano Lisa Larsson. The world famous Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča will join Sinfonietta Rīga for the 85th jubilee concert of Latvian composer and pianist Raimonds Pauls. Finally, in May, the orchestra will ascend the stage of Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw for the first time, performing together with oboe virtuoso Alexei Ogrintchouk.

For its musical and cultural contribution Sinfonietta Rīga has received the coveted national seal of approval – the Grand Latvian Music Award – four times. Its participation in the recording of Adam’s Lament by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, released by ECM, brought the orchestra the acclaimed Grammy Award. Sinfonietta Rīga has recorded numerous other albums that have been released by its devoted partners Wergo, Ondine, Onyx, Edition Records, Challenge Records, Signum Records and Latvian national record label SKANI. The orchestra's latest studio album, recorded together with violist Maxim Rysanov, is released in spring 2020 by BIS Records.

This album contains no booklet.