Here’s a fascinating and rewarding snapshot of violin-led Latvian music telescoping the then and now. Prompted by Australian-based violinist Sophia Kirsanova’s research into the musical response to the tumultuous decades that ended the 20th century – the sporadic uprisings of the ‘Singing Revolution’, the collapse of the Soviet Union, Latvia regaining its independence – works from the period and newly commissioned pieces in their first recordings offer a snapshot of a thriving tradition.
The new works are both substantial. Better known as a composer of choral works, Ēriks Ešenvalds’ title track is viscerally evocative of the tumult surrounding the Singing Revolution; a dark, peristaltic percussive pulse underneath a violin line torn between dread actuality and yearning for freer aspirations. Linda Leimane’s animated five-part Architectonics of a Crystal Soul pits solo violin against flute, clarinet, cello and piano to conjure an imaginary city where different ages and culture meet. It’s an exercise in free sonic imagination vividly realised by Kirsanova and the Syzygy Ensemble.
Vasks is the most immediately recognisably name here and his six miniature, multi-faceted movements, Little Summer Music, finds Kirsanova and pianist Amir Farid in perfect accord.
Drawing on the melancholic strain in Latvia’s distinctive folk music tradition, it’s a nostalgic paean to the struggles of the past and a spine-stiffening riposte to the challenges ahead.
Composed during the late period of Soviet occupation, Aivars Kalējs’ Toccata references Bach in a fierce solo for violin that Kirsanova plays with utter conviction. From upcoming contemporary composer and former Vasks pupil, Platon Buravicky, Angel’s Sight is a tribute to the composer’s wife that finds Kirsanova and pianist Georgina Lewis locked in celestial fantasy in a piece marked by striking and often moving lyricism.
"Limelight": Michael Quinn, 02/2025
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Inspired by her research project “Latvian Classical Violin Music in Transition, c.1980-2000” the Australia-based Latvian violinist Sophia Kirsanova presents world premiere recordings of stylistically diverse works for violin by Latvian composers on The Morning Mist, a musical reflection on a significant period that saw the collapse of the Soviet Union and Latvia regaining its independence.
Three works represent music of today’s Latvia: Ēriks Ešenvalds’ title track, with pianist Agnese Eglina; Linda Leimane’s Architectonics of a Crystal Soul, with the Syzygy Ensemble; and Platon Buravicky’s Angel’s Gaze, with pianist Georgina Lewis. Amir Farid is the pianist for Pēteris Vasks’ Little Summer Music, a set of five brief but delightful pieces, but the highlight here is Aivars Kalējs’ monumental Toccata for Solo Violin Op.40, a striking work, heavily influenced by Bach, that draws particularly outstanding playing from Kirsanova, who handles a variety of styles and techniques with ease and musical intelligence throughout the CD.
www.thewholenote.com
02/2025
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Latvian Composers for Violin: The Morning Mist
It is the debut album of Latvian-Australian violinist Sophia Kirsanova, featuring world premiere recordings of works for violin by mostly contemporary, internationally unknown Latvian composers.
“The musical selection on this album is stylistically diverse, and I wanted to reflect the dynamic nature of these transitional years. The new commissioned works by Leimane and Ešenvalds, as well as the recently composed piece by Buravicky, represent the music of present-day Latvia.
Ešenvalds’ music also underscores the connection to the Singing Revolution and the tradition of choral music in Latvia. Vasks is represented here as one of the most significant Latvian composers of string music, and his earlier work, which refers to Latvian folk music, serves as a striking example of expressing ‘Latvian-ness’. Kalējs’ Toccata, on the other hand, is a monumental work for solo violin that highlights Latvia’s long-standing violin traditions. The album Miglainais rīts (The Morning Mist) was inspired by my research project “Latvian Classical Violin Music in Transition, c. 1980–2000.” It is a musical reflection on key aspects of Latvian history at the end of the 20th century—a pivotal period marked by the Singing Revolution (a series of social uprisings in the Baltics between 1986 and 1991), the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Riga barricades, and the restoration of Latvian independence."
The musical selection on this album is stylistically diverse, and I wanted to reflect the dynamic nature of these transitional years. The new commissioned works by Leimane and Ešenvalds, as well as the recently composed piece by Buravicky, represent the music of present-day Latvia.
Ešenvalds’ music underscores the connection to the “Singing Revolution” and Latvia’s choral tradition. Vasks is included here as one of the most significant Latvian composers of string music, and his early work, inspired by Latvian folk music, stands as a powerful example of expressing “Latvian-ness”. Kalējs’ Toccata is a monumental work for solo violin that highlights Latvia’s enduring violin traditions.
Contemporary Music in Latvia
The two premiere recordings of commissioned works (by Ešenvalds and Leimane) and Buravicky’s Angel’s Sight represent contemporary Latvian violin music. Though stylistically diverse, the violin remains central in all the pieces.
Platon Buravicky is one of the most brilliant composers of the younger generation in Latvia. A former student of Pēteris Vasks, his style ranges from academic to electronic, electroacoustic, and experimental music. At one point, I was looking for a recently composed piece for violin and piano in a minimalist style for a new concert program. While exploring the Latvian violin repertoire, I came across Buravicky’s Angel’s Gaze, and this beautiful composition immediately touched me with its delicacy and passion. Since then, I have performed it many times, and the audience has always responded enthusiastically. This celestial and deeply moving piece is one of the most lyrical works for violin and piano composed in Latvia in recent years. It is a tribute to the composer’s wife and was commissioned in 2016 by the Pēteris Vasks Foundation.
Linda Leimane is one of the most recognized female composers of the younger generation in Latvia. She writes for various classical ensembles, collaborates across disciplines, and is active in electronic music. Her ability to create an entire world of imagination through original sonic textures encouraged me to commission her for a new violin work. I wanted to explore this aspect in a piece that presents the violin as a solo instrument alongside other ensemble instruments. The resulting work, The Architectonics of a Crystal Soul, for solo violin and ensemble, is best described by Leimane herself:
“It is a fifteen-minute, large-scale constellation in which the violin takes center stage, creating a synergy between the soloist and the ensemble of flute, clarinet, cello, and piano. The musical idea is to create a sonic environment of an imaginary city where artifacts from different eras and cultures meet. The soundscape is experienced and perceived by a ‘crystal soul’—the solo violin—alive, sentient, pulsing, breathing, fragile and strong, present across different eras and places on the planet.”
This work premiered as part of the New Music Studio concert series at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (University of Melbourne) with the Syzygy Ensemble from Melbourne.
The Toccata and Church Music
The renowned Latvian composer and virtuoso organist Aivars Kalējs composed the Toccata for Solo Violin, Op. 40, in 1985, during the late Soviet period. Although it is much harder to discern political statements or historical contexts in instrumental music, the sacred context and performance history of this piece reflect the changing circumstances of this transitional period in Latvian history.
The Toccata’s reference to the sacred, to the music of J.S. Bach, and to other solo violin works in similar traditions creates a connection to the revival of sacred music that began in the final decade of the Soviet Union. Its performance history also reflects the transitional period, with artists and groups increasingly touring abroad. One of the champions of the Toccata, the legendary Latvian soloist and long-time concertmaster of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Valdis Zariņš (1942–2018), included the work in his solo programs in Sweden (1992) and Canada (1996).
Vasks and the Expression of Latvian Identity
Pēteris Vasks is one of Latvia’s most important composers and a leading figure in Latvian string music. I have included many of his works in my repertoire—six string quartets, numerous pieces for string orchestra, chamber music, works for solo violin and string orchestra (including two violin concertos). For this album, however, I chose an earlier work: Little Summer Music for violin and piano.
This piece’s closeness to Latvian folk music—as well as its portrayal of Latvian nature and its distinct expression of “Latvian-ness”—ties it to the spirit of Latvia’s national awakening in the late 1980s, when national identity was one of the defining aspects. The description of the piece states: “This six-part suite tells the sorrowful story of the Latvian people, whose soul and love of nature are captured in the melancholic and folkloric character of the music.”
Latvian identity plays a central role in Vasks’ work and is part of his exceptionally individual style—his “voice” in music. In a 1991 interview, he expressed the idea that Latvian classical music must have its own identity:
“To speak Latvian in music, in my mother tongue. That’s the only way I can express myself and say something others might not know. A tiny country that has suffered so much, endured so many conquests and betrayals, yet still fiercely defends its right to exist—a nation that says ‘Yes’. That’s how I see my music.”
The “Singing Revolution”
There is probably no choir in the world that hasn’t performed Ēriks Ešenvalds’ music. For me, having lived abroad since 2007, Ešenvalds’ music—and singing in the Australian-Latvian community choir Daina in Melbourne—has been a deeply emotional and meaningful experience.
Choral music, one of the most deeply rooted genres in Latvian culture, is closely tied to the era of national awakening. More broadly, the events that took place in the three Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) in the late 1980s are known as the Baltic Revolution or Singing Revolution. Music, especially choral music, played a key role in the Singing Revolution. On this album, I wanted to highlight this important connection to the choral tradition with a violin piece by one of Latvia’s leading choral composers. While the violin plays a significant role in Ešenvalds’ chamber music and appears extensively in his larger works (Voice of the Ocean, Ancient Prairie), The Morning Mist is his first major work for violin.
Kultur-Port.de: Sofia Kirsanova, 20.11.2024
