Concert Programme
P. Tchaikovsky. Piano Concerto No. 1 in B minor, Op. 23
F. Schubert. The Symphony No. 9 in C major, D 944 (“The Great”)
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One of the most famous Latvian pianists, Reinis Zariņš gave his first concert at the age of ten and has since been performing as a chamber and symphonic soloist throughout Europe and North America. The pianist is a laureate of 11 international competitions and was awarded the Grand Latvian Music Prize "For outstanding interpretation" three times. His virtuosity, depth of sound and wise interpretations have gathered the most famous concert halls, such as London's Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, New York's Carnegie Hall or Moscow's P. Tchaikovsky. In the repertoire of classical and contemporary music, R. Zariņš is looking for such pieces and their interpretations that reveal the deepest meanings and goals of music. Tonight, together with the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, R. Zariņš will perform one of the most famous masterpieces of the Romantic era – Pyotr Tchaikovsky's (1840–1893) Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 23
The second part of the concert will feature the Ninth Symphony of the famous Austrian romantic Franz Schubert (1797-1828) – the last of the great orchestral works written by this composer, which premiered more than a decade after Schubert's death. In the last years of Schubert's life, the music community of Vienna had given its consent to the composer's Symphony No. 9, but the orchestra could not overcome a long and complex piece and eventually refused to perform it altogether. F. Schubert's Symphony No. 9 reveals the deep influence of L. van Beethoven. L. van Beethoven lived in F. Schubert's native Vienna for the entire duration of the younger composer's life, but he never dared to meet his greatest authority...
Martynas Staškus, conductor of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, will lead the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra tonight. Alongside his main activity of conducting opera and ballet performances, since 2004 M. Staškus has also been leading the Symphony Orchestra of the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts. Since 2013 he has been the chief conductor with the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre’s Symphony Orchestra.