LMIC radio

Kaspars Putniņš

(26.10.1966 )

conductor

Kaspars Putniņš is an internationally recognised choral conductor and producer. He has conducted the Latvian Radio Choir since 1992, and in 1994 he founded the Latvian Radio Chamber Singers, a smaller vocal ensemble that serves as a laboratory in which the choir can explore new sounds. Putniņš directed the Tenso European chamber choir from 2013 to 2017. He has been the artistic director and chief conductor of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir since the 2014/2015 season, and in autumn of 2020 he also became the chief conductor of the world-famous Swedish Radio Choir.

Putniņš is interested in a very wide range of choral repertoire, from Renaissance polyphony to music of the Romantic period and contemporary music. However, his priority has always been the promotion of high-quality contemporary music, because he is fascinated by the ability of new music to reveal still-unknown territory to choirs and singers and present uncharted possibilities for the human voice.

Putniņš calls himself an “agent of Latvian music” and has done much to support and promote (including abroad) the music of composers Maija Einfelde, Andris Dzenītis, Voldemārs Johansons, Rolands Kronlaks, Kristaps Pētersons, Santa Ratniece, Mārtiņš Viļums, Gundega Šmite and others. He has also collaborated with composers Toivo Tulev, Lasse Thoresen, Gavin Bryars and others. Putniņš has always had an interest in making music a part of multimedia works of art. Thus, in 2003 the Latvian Radio choir staged Zemes augļi, debess augļi (Fruits of the Earth, Fruits of Heaven) with music by Nic Gotham and Ģirts Bišs at the Latvian National Opera. Together with Hotel Pro Forma of Denmark, the Latvian Radio Choir has performed in Operation: Orfeo, NeoArctic and War Sum Up; the choir has also collaborated with the Scottish performance company Cryptic in the Black Over Red and The Book of Your Silence. These projects have been performed in Latvia as well as abroad.

As a guest conductor, Putniņš regularly appears with leading European choirs, including the BBC Singers, the RIAS Chamber Choir, the Berlin Radio Choir, the North German Radio Choir, the Netherlands Chamber Choir, Collegium Vocale Gent, the Flemish Radio Choir and others, the SWR Vokalensemble of Stuttgart and Tokyo Cantat. He has conducted at Lincoln Center in New York City, the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, Konzerthaus Berlin and the Berliner Philharmonie, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Berwaldhallen in Stockholm, the Frauenkirche in Dresden and many other prestigious venues.

BIS Records, Hyperion Records and Glossa Music have released Putniņš’ recordings with the Latvian Radio Choir (music by Vasks, Harvey, Bryars, Ešenvalds, Maskats and Silvestrov) as well as the Flemish Radio Choir and the Netherlands Chamber Choir (Rachmaninoff). His album with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir featuring music by Alfred Schnittke and Arvo Pärt won a Diapason d’Or and a Gramophone award in 2018. Nature and the Soul, an album recorded by Putniņš and the Latvian Radio Choir and released by the Latvian national recording label Skani, features Latvian choral classics composed by Jāzeps Vītols, Emilis Melngailis, Emīls Dārziņš and Jānis Zālītis.

Putniņš has been awarded the Order of the Three Stars for his outstanding contribution to Latvian choral culture and the promotion of Latvia and its music on a global scale. He is also a recipient of the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers Award and the Latvian Grand Music Award. In 2019, he was awarded the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana 4th Class, the state decoration of Estonia, for his contributions to that country and its culture.

Putniņš studied at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He frequently reads lectures on Latvian music, leads masterclasses in choral conducting (Bachakademie Stuttgart, Vocaal Talent, Meesters & Gezellen) and serves on juries at international competitions.

 

LMIC 2020