Riga Jurmala Music Festival Announces 2021 Programme

Riga Jurmala Music Festival Announces 2021 Programme 

 

Four Orchestras – Four Weekends, July – August  

 

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, John Eliot Gardiner 

Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Riccardo Muti 

Concertgebouworkest, Daniel Harding 

St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Yuri Temirkanov 

 

Soloists include Leif Ove Andsnes, Yefim Bronfman, Renaud Capuçon, Alice Coote, Renée Fleming, Matthias Goerne, Truls Mørk, András Schiff, Bryn Terfel, Arcadi Volodos & Yuja Wang 

 

 
25 September 2020 

Firmly established as one of the leading summer destinations for music lovers, the Riga Jurmala Music Festival returns in 2021 with four weekends centred around four major international ensembles: the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra with John Eliot Gardiner, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Riccardo Muti, the Concertgebouworkest with Daniel Harding and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra with Yuri Temirkanov. 

 

The twenty performances will also feature world-renowned soloists such as pianists Yuja Wang, Víkingur Ólafsson, András Schiff, Leif Ove Andsnes, Yefim Bronfman and Arcadi Volodos, as well as cellist Truls Mørk and violinist Renaud Capuçon. The Riga Jurmala Music Festival will also present outstanding singers such as soprano Renée Fleming, bass-baritone Bryn Terfel, baritone Matthias Goerne, and mezzo-soprano Alice Coote. 

 

Afternoon concerts will include an outstanding selection of young, talented pianists, including George Li, Daumants Liepinš, Yoav Levanon, Behzod Abduraimov, and Alexandre Kantorow, as well as violinist Daniel Lozakovich. The acclaimed British vocal ensemble, the King’s Singers, will also present a recital. 

 

Each orchestra gives two evening concerts, with the third evening of the weekend dedicated to a concert featuring a prominent soloist.  Two noon concerts of chamber music and recitals are the opportunity to discover young talent as well as established artists. The Riga Jurmala Music Festival’s dual location in Latvia’s historic capital city of Riga and the forested seaside resort of Jurmala add to the experience of visiting the Festival. Evening performances take place at the Latvian National Opera in Riga or the Dzintari Concert Hall in Jurmala, while all noon concerts take place at the Great Guild in Riga. 

 

“Like in previous editions of the Riga Jurmala Music Festival, our 2021 programme promises to be exceptional for a number of reasons. Of course, we are extremely grateful to the many artists who were willing to reconfirm their previously announced performances and they will join a stellar artistic lineup which we have been planning since the festival’s inaugural year. We will also continue to collaborate with these exceptional artists for the Festival’s education initiative, the Riga Jurmala Academy, which was successfully transformed this summer into an online programme,” says Martin T:son Engstroem, Artistic Director of the Riga Jurmala Music Festival.  

  
“Although the global situation remains uncertain, we are maintaining a confident and forward-looking view, and we have chosen to plan our next summer well in advance to provide support to our artists and to the classical music community. I am very grateful to our generous supporters and partners, thanks to whom we can already announce this wonderful artistic roster. We will do everything in our power to ensure that both local and international audiences will be able to enjoy a safe cultural experience of the highest quality in 2021,” says Zane Culkstena, Executive Director of the Riga Jurmala Music Festival.  

 
In 2021 the Riga Jurmala Music Festival will continue its music education initiative, the Riga Jurmala Academy, organised in collaboration with the Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music, the country’s centre for excellence in classical music performance. The Riga Jurmala Academy will provide young and talented musicians from Latvia and abroad with unparalleled opportunities for artistic development and collegial interaction through masterclasses and workshops with selected soloists and orchestral musicians from the 2021 festival roster, including András Schiff and Leif Ove Andsnes, who both have already confirmed their participation.  

 

Tickets for the 2021 Festival season will be available from 1 October at:?www.riga-jurmala.com  
 
Led by Artistic Director Martin T:son Engstroem and Associate Artistic Director Miguel Esteban, the team behind the Festival has been working tirelessly to bring the best quality music and musicians to Latvia. The team consists of industry professionals who share a dedication and passion for classical music, as well as the strongly held belief that Riga and Jurmala are the hidden gems of Northern Europe, and fast becoming two of the most exciting destinations for classical music connoisseurs. 

 

www.riga-jurmala.com  
 
Notes to Editor 

 

About Riga Jurmala Academy  

 

During the 2020 summer the Festival, adapting to the situation created by Covid-19, created the Riga Jurmala Academy. Thirty online masterclasses took place with leading musicians from the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra – Natalie Schwaabe (piccolo), Lionel Cottet (cello), Julita Smolen (violin), Tobias Steymans (violin), Jehye Lee (violin) and Bettina Faiss (clarinet)—as well as pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, guitarist Miloš and cellist Mischa Maisky. The masterclass participants were comprised of music students from the Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music, Emils Darzinš Music Secondary School, London’s Guildhall School of Music & Drama, as well as Lithuania and Estonia’s leading music institutions. 

 

Page Break 

2021 PROGRAMME 

 

Weekend 1 (July 16-18) 

Jurmala 

 

16.07 

 

7pm 

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra  

John Eliot Gardiner conductor  

Yuja Wang piano 

Brahms – Schumann 

 

17.07 

 

12pm 

The King’s Singers  

”Finding Harmony” 

 

7pm 

Matthias Goerne baritone  

Vi´kingur O´lafsson piano  

Schubert – Schumann – Brahms 

 

18.07 

 

12pm 

Vi´kingur O´lafsson piano  

Debussy – Rameau  

 

7pm 

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra 

John Eliot Gardiner conductor  

András Schiff piano 

Schumann – Brahms 

 

Weekend 2 (August 6-8) 

Riga 

 

06.08 

 

7pm 

St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra  

Yuri Temirkanov conductor 

Truls Mørk cello 

Glinka – Shostakovich – Rimsky-Korsakov 

 

07.08 

 

12pm 

George Li piano  

Beethoven – Chopin 

 

7pm 

St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra  

Yuri Temirkanov conductor  

Renaud Capuçon violin  

Verdi – Bruch – Rachmaninoff 

 

08.08 

 

12pm 

Yoav Levanon piano  

Mozart – Liszt – Medinš - Gershwin 

 

7pm 

Arcadi Volodos piano 

Clementi – Schumann – Schubert 

 

Weekend 3 (August 20-22) 

Riga 

 

20.08 

 

7pm 

Chicago Symphony Orchestra  

Riccardo Muti conductor  

Alice Coote mezzo-soprano  

Britten – Elgar – Tchaikovsky 

 

21.08 

 

12pm 

Behzod Abduraimov piano  

Schumann – Rachmaninoff 

 

7pm 

Chicago Symphony Orchestra  

Riccardo Muti conductor 

Mazzoli – Stravinsky – Brahms 

 

22.08 

 

12pm 

Daniel Lozakovich violin  

Behzod Abduraimov piano  

Schubert – Beethoven 

 

7pm 

Leif Ove Andsnes piano 

Beethoven – Schubert – Dvorák 

 

Weekend 4 (August 27-29) 

Jurmala 

 

27.08 

 

7pm 

Concertgebouworkest 

Daniel Harding conductor  

Yefim Bronfman piano  

Beethoven – Bruckner 

 

28.08 

 

12pm 

Alexandre Kantorow piano  

Brahms 

7pm 

Concertgebouworkest 

Daniel Harding conductor  

Renée Fleming soprano  

Debussy – Messiaen – Stravinsky – Debussy 

 

29.08 

 

12pm 

Daumants Liepinš piano  

Liszt – Ravel 

 

7pm 

Bryn Terfel bass-baritone? 

Annabel Thwaite piano 

Schubert – Keel – Schumann – and more