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
