Listening to this album, one can only marvel that Vestards Šimkus (born 1984) is not much more famous in this country – both as a composer and as a pianist. In both disciplines he has truly extraordinary things to offer. Šimkus, who studied composition with his famous compatriot Pēteris Vasks and belongs to the younger generation of Baltic artists who were able to learn their craft in the Republic of Latvia, which was liberated from the Soviets, locates himself in the succession of Romantic composer-pianists such as Schumann, Liszt, and Rachmaninov. In terms of virtuosity and technique, he is in no way inferior to his great role models. His Piano Concerto No. 1 was written in 2008 and is entitled "Veltīts neērtajam cilvēkam". The English translation offered by the album ("Dedicated To The Bothersome Man") is unfortunate, because "bothersome" is the wrong word here. Properly translated from Latvian, it should read in German: "Gewidmet dem unbequemen Mann". The booklet text does not reveal who is meant by this, but one may assume that it is Pēteris Vasks, who always stood up to the Soviet occupiers, especially since Šimkus literally plays on his keyboard here without ever getting under his teacher's wheels. The "Dreamscapes" etudes from 2014 bear eloquent titles such as "Floating Stars", "Tsunami" or "Snakes", and they are brimming with power, inventiveness and pianistic elegance. "Gates of Destiny" (2018), with its just under 7 minutes of playing, forms a concentrate of the 1st Piano Concerto. Šimkus and the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra form a dream team!
Music: ★★★★½
Sound: ★★★★★
Burkhard Schäfer
Fono Forum, 08 / 2022