Other events in Baltic States

With the support of Rietumu, the Second Summer Series of Concerts of the "Baltic Musical Seasons" festival were opened in Jurmala. 

As part of this ambitious project, during the summer season the residents and visitors of Latvia will enjoy performances by famous musicians and world-renowned stars. 

The first, the debut festival "Baltic Musical Seasons" was held in Latvia last summer and had tremendous success. Back then, the world famous conductor Riccardo Muti with his Orchestra Luigi Cherubini, Chris Botti, Joshua Bell, Hibla Gerzmava, Lawrence Brownlee, Sarah Coburn and other celebrities performed at the best venues of the country. 

The present festival opened on the past weekend in Jurmala with a concert of John Malkovich. Accompanied by the music of Alfred Schnittke performed by the Hungarian Danubia Orchestra Óbuda, the remarkable artist and director presented a chapter from the novel "On Heroes and Tombs" by Argentine writer Ernesto Sabato on the stage of Dzintari Concert Hall. 

The concert, which many viewers characterised in one word - "splendid" - was a sell-out. The next opportunity to gain aesthetic experience will be presented on 4 July, when a concert of Russian pianist-virtuoso Denis Matsuev, accompanied by a symphony orchestra, will take place here, in Dzintari Concert Hall, as part of the "Seasons". The programme, dedicated to the 145th anniversary of Sergei Rachmaninoff, will include the pieces by the great Russian composer. 

As the member of the Board of Trustees of the "Baltic Musical Seasons", a co-owner of Rietumu Bank Arkady Suharenko noted: "Since both Rietumu and its shareholders have the most direct relation to the birth of the very idea of the "Seasons" and to its embodiment, we are closely following the growth of the festival. After all, it is the first year or two for such a major undertaking that are decisive: the concert-goers evaluate the new festival, its organisation, programme, level, atmosphere - and on the basis of all this form their attitude, which determines the further fate of the project. Therefore, we were very pleased with the spectacular start last year. We hope that the festival will gain ground in Jurmala and will become part of its cultural identity. 

It is especially pleasant that "Seasons" shows the continuity of the musical traditions formed on the Baltic Riviera in the second half of the 20th century. I wish the management of the festival clear and coordinated work, and to all of us - music admirers and connoisseurs of a first-class performance - true enjoyment of the festival concerts." 

The programme of the "Baltic Musical Seasons", like last year, will be international and diverse. During the summer, British conductor and pianist Antonio Pappano, the music director of the Royal Opera House "Covent Garden"; a famous cellist, native of Riga Mischa Maisky; a star tenor, "der Kammersänger" Juan Diego Florez will perform in Latvia. Featuring the "Baltic Musical Seasons", the concert of the famous Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Elina Garanča will take place; as well as the Early Music Festival in Rundale Palace, in which the Kremerata Baltica Orchestra, Dmitry Sinkovsky, Sergei Egers and many others will perform. 

The festival "Baltic Musical Seasons" is held with the support of patrons of art and businessmen Pyotr Aven, Mikhail Fridman, Arkady Suharenko, Yuri Shefler, Guntis Ravis, Leon Zilber, Yelena Nikolayeva, Vyacheslav Brecht and Alexander Gafin.