The Vidzeme Concert Hall in Cēsis, Latvia, completed in 2014, has attracted many distinguished performers and soloists to its stage.

A notable festival that regularly takes place at the Hall is the cello festival Cello Cēsis. To document some of the performances that have been held at the hall, the Latvian national music label Skani released a compilation of performances that feature the cello and orchestra. Also entitled Cello Cēsis, the collection gathers five performances of soloists and the chamber orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga, and was released in 2018.

Recorded from 2015 to 2017, the set includes live performances by both Latvian and international cellists and violinists.

The CD booklet also includes an interview with Inese Zagorska, artistic director of the Cēsis Concert Hall, in both Latvian and English.

For further information, please visit the Skani website and the Cēsis Concert Hall website.

Cello Cēsis

Skani, 2018

Track listing

1. Pēteris Vasks • Cello concerto No. 2 “Presence” – III Adagio (featuring Marko Ylönen, cello)

2. Johannes Brahms • Concerto for Violin and Cello, Op.102 – I Allegro (featuring Boris Brovtsyn, violin and Kristīne Blaumane, cello)

3. Franz Schubert • Cello Concerto in D minor (Arpeggione Sonata, D.821) I Allegro moderato  (featuring Mario Brunello, cello)

4. Antonio Vivaldi • Concerto for 2 Cellos in G minor, RV 531, II Adagio (featuring Gunta Ābele, cello and Kārlis Klotiņš, cello)

5. Anitra Tumševica • Sun Music for Cello and Symphony Orchestra (featuring Ēriks Kiršfelds, cello)