This autumn, violinist Kristīne Balanas and cellist and conductor Margarita Balanas have become the first Latvian musicians to sign a contract with the world-famous record label Decca Classics.
Their first release in collaboration with Decca Classics is Pēteris Vasks’ “Castillo Interior”, a spiritual and meditative work inspired by the writings of Saint Teresa of Ávila.
The Balanas sisters continue to bring their unique and distinctly Latvian energy into classical music with their second release under the Decca Classics label — a lavish and emotionally rich new arrangement of Franz Xaver Gruber’s timeless Christmas carol “Silent Night, Holy Night.” The arrangement, created by the internationally acclaimed Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds, is dedicated to the sisters, Kristīne and Margarita Balanas.
Decca Classics is one of the oldest and most prestigious record labels in the world. It has released recordings by legends such as Luciano Pavarotti, Herbert von Karajan, Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, and Martha Argerich. Founded in 1929 in the United Kingdom, Decca Classics has been associated for more than 90 years with quality, excellence, innovation, and enduring leadership in the world of classical music recording.
The Balanas sisters have performed in some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, including New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, and London’s Royal Albert Hall, and as soloists with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.