Kristaps Pētersons

“Art is a costly privilege. It is fascinating the way that the Almighty has organised the world – both in real life and in the arts we are forced to reckon with the draconic laws of material elements. We must overcome the resistance, and that is stimulating. Additionally, if reality is characterised by an incompleteness, then art is potentially closer to the ideal. That is why it is so wistfully interesting to realise that a small percentage of humankind are able to fulfil their potential in the world of art, or to periodically visit it.”

Kristaps Pētersons

Kristaps Pētersons was born on May 6th, 1982 in Valmiera. He studied at the Latvian Academy of Music in the double-bass class (with Sergejs Brīnums) and the composition class (with Romualds Kalsons), and he received his bachelor’s degree with highest honours in both specialties (2005) and his master’s degree in composition (2007). During his studies, for distinguished accomplishments, he received the Arnolds Šturms Award, and, in 2007, the Tālivaldis Ķeniņš Award.

The music of K. Pētersons has been performed at the festivals Skaņu mežs, Arēna, Saxophonia, Latvian New Music Days and the Introvert Music Festival. Received the Mūzikas Saule magazine Meža sanitārs 2008 (Forest orderly 2008) award for his work Glenfiddich. With the work Mijkrēšļa dziedājumi (Twilight Chants), the composer was victorious at the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers in Lisbon, Portugal (2010). Pēterson’s composition Vega was nominated for the 2009 Award in Culture by the newspaper Diena. Since 2005, K. Pētersons has been a musician in the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, since 2006 – a member of Gosti, an urban folklore group. In 2007, he was appointed a lecturer in the composition department of the Latvian Academy of Music.

Kristaps Pētersons, Mārīte Dombrovska Photo - Santa Savisko © LMIC, 2008

Photo - Aivars Liepiņš