Few composers have contributed as much to the Latvian academic repertoire than Juris Karlsons. Over his many decades of composition, he has enriched almost all genres with his contributions. Particularly notable is his contribution to the field of theater and stage music.

To spotlight this section of Karlsons’ oeuvre, the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra and conductor Guntis Kuzma recorded some of Karlsons’ compositions for and inspired by the stage, and the resulting album, entitled Dzīves un nāves dejas (Dances of Life and Death) was released in 2023.

One of French playwright Pierre Corneille’s best known works is Le Cid, about the legendary Spanish warrior El Cid. Karlsons’ work “El Cid. Dzīves un nāves dejas” was inspired by this play (as well as a production of the play at the Riga Dailes Theater in 1996), and Karlsons encapsulates the story and legend in this work.  The subtitle (meaning ‘Dances of Life and Death’) already indicates the dramatic, perhaps fatalistic nature of the work, and Karlsons’ music expressively presents the story. The interplay between the woodwinds and the brass instruments is vividly performed by Liepāja Symphony Orchestra. As the work moves from moments of levity to moments of deep foreboding, the orchestra builds upon the intensity contained in Karlsons’ work.

Latvian playwright Rūdolfs Blaumanis added many memorable plays to the world of Latvian literature, but perhaps none is as beloved as Skroderdienas Silmačos, a play set in the time of Jāņi (midsummer). It is a work that continues to play to packed houses every summer in Latvia. Inspired by Blaumanis’ work, Karlsons composed the music for “Antonija #Silmači”, a ballet based upon the play.

A tender and bucolic melody opens the first work in the suite, entitled ‘Antonija’, Antonija being the owner of the Silmači farmstead and a young widow. Karlsons’ tender music is tinged with sadness, and the orchestra’s sweeping performance creates a deep and layered portrayal of Antonija. The image of Antonija is then followed by the energetic, even galloping ‘Skroderi nāk’, inspired by the approach of the travelling tailors to Silmači, musically imagining the preparations and apprehensions for some.

Though ostensibly a comedy, Skroderdienas Silmačos still carries a lot of emotional weight and drama, and Karlsons’ music brings forth the many layers of Blaumanis’ play. This can be seen in the vivacious and even turbulent ‘Zāra’, about the Jewish dressmaker of the same name, and her romance with Joske, the son of merchant Ābrams. There is a similar storminess in ‘Bites’ (Bees), which may also be partially inspired by Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’, a work famous for its frantic depiction of the winged insect, and the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra skillfully and artfully performs this work of technical intricacies.

The album also contains Karlsons’ ‘Jāzepa vīzijas’ (Joseph’s Visions), music inspired by a 1981 production of ‘Jāzeps un viņa brāļi’, a tragedy written by famed Latvian poet Rainis, and itself inspired by the Old Testament story of Joseph, the son of Jacob. Weaving together Middle Eastern motifs with the broad orchestral palette, Karlsons creates an engrossing musical vision, revealing the modern parallels to be found in this ancient story. This work is also the only one to feature vocals, a searing vocal performance by baritone Daumants Kalniņš.

Dzīves un nāves dejas is a memorable document of composer Juris Karlsons’ rich imagination and skill with theatrical music. These works (or, one might call them ‘visions’) bring together many dramatic and even comedic threads, and, when performed by such skillful musicians such as the Liepāja Symphony orchestra and conductor Guntis Kuzma, reveal a lush theatrical world.

For further information, please visit the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra website.

Juris Karlsons – Dzīves un nāves dejas

Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, conductor Guntis Kuzma

LMIC/SKANI 148, 2023

Track listing:

1. El Cid. Dzīves un nāves dejas

Suite from the ballet Antonija #Silmači

2. Antonija

3. Skroderi nāk

4. Zāra

5. Pindacīša un Ābrams

6. Aleksis un Elīna

7. Bites

8. Cik b(l)ēdīgi tie vecāki

9. Antonija un Aleksis

10. Fināls

11. Jāzepa vīzijas

In addition to spotlighting Latvian composers and their compositions, the Latvian national record label Skani also endeavors to shine a light on the many talented musicians in Latvia. Pianist Rihards Plešanovs is such a musician, and his debut solo piano album Les Flexibles, containing performances of 20^th and 21^st century works by both Latvian and international composers, was released in 2023.

The works included on this collection are an eclectic mix, and are also interspersed with readings of poetry, and Plešanovs’ performances are infused with both his technical and dramatic interpretation skills.

The album opens with Plešanovs’ lively performance of Imants Zemzaris’ ‘Faktūras’ (Textures). A three movement work, each brief movement compresses much into its short running time – the first is a blur of motion, the second a kind of warped, yet playful dance, while the dreamy third movement concludes the work on an uncertain, even eerie note. Plešanovs dexterously brings out the many details and elements that have been woven into this work by Zemzaris.

The work that gives the album its title – ‘Les Flexibles’ – is by Latvian composer Linda Leimane. Leimane’s work, which, as per the composer, “came from improvising on an out-of-tune piano in a bathhouse”, is an opus with dynamic intensity – it leaps between an almost frantic, hyperactive mood to a more foreboding, apprehensive atmosphere. Plešanovs capably brings these varied moods, as well as the technical demands of the piece, together to make for a compelling performance.

Composer Pēteris Vasks’ cycle ‘Gadalaiki’ (Seasons) for piano is perhaps one of the best known and beloved piano works in the Latvian repertoire, particularly the somber and beautiful ‘Baltā ainava’ (White Landscape). At times tender and melancholy, others uneasy, yet filled with longing, Plešanovs provides a beautiful and moving performance of this wintry opus.

The poetic and spoken word interludes are perhaps a strange choice, but they do offer a brief respite between the often very heavily dramatic opuses. The interludes are in Latvian, Latgallian, Russian, English and French. The poetic introduction ‘Mushroom Rhapsody’ switches multiple times between languages, which leaves the listener slightly disconcerted, as it is a poem about going mushrooming, but goes on spiritual and existential tangents. The poem then leads into one of Plešanovs’ own compositions, also entitled ‘Mushroom Rhapsody’, for prepared piano. Plešanovs’ composition – inspired by John Cage (who, as per the CD booklet, “had been an active mushroom hunter and researcher”) – is very abstract, occasionally seeming more like a collection of sounds than a musical work, but, as the work progresses, it builds in intensity and turns into a rhythmic, almost jazzy work.

The album also contains performances of works by György Ligeti, Fazil Say, Olivier Messiaen, and Edgars Raginskis.

Pianist Rihards Plešanovs convincingly shows himself as a preeminent Latvian pianist, and the Les Flexibles collection, with its panorama of 20^th and 21^st century piano works displays the many facets of his talents. From moments of dramatic tension to somber melancholy, to abstract visions created using the prepared piano, Plešanovs has made an impressive debut album.

For further information, please visit the Skani website.

Les Flexibles

Rihards Plešanovs, Piano

LMIC/SKANi 147, 2023

Track listing:

Imants ZEMZARIS – Faktūras

1. Allegro 1:52

2. Andantino 3:46

3. Moderato 1:52

4. György LIGETI – Fanfares étude

5. Liāna LANGA – Skumju brālis – spoken word

6. Fazil SAY – Black Earth

7. Linda LEIMANE –  Les flexibles

8. Anna RANCĀNE –  Bārna sapyns – spoken word

9. Olivier MESSIAEN – Le baiser de l’Enfant-Jésus from the cycle Vingt regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus

10. György LIGETI – L’escalier du diable étude

11. Sergej TIMOFEJEV – Утро в стране интровертов – spoken word

12. Pēteris VASKS – Baltā ainava

13. Edgars RAGINSKIS – Maza elektroniskā mūzika

14. Inga ŽOLUDE Mushroom Rhapsody – spoken word

15. Rihards PLEŠANOVS – Sēņu rapsodija for prepared audio recording and piano