ROBERTS BALANAS un stīgu ansamblis

16.⁠ ⁠decembrī plkst. 19.30 kinoteātrī Splendid Palace

Pasaulslavenais vijolnieks Roberts Balanas atgriežas Latvijā ar jaunu, vēl nedzirdētu koncertprogrammu, kas izskanēs vienā no skaistākajām Rīgas kultūras vietām - kino Splendid Palace. 

Šī būs pirmā iespēja dzirdēt programmu, ar kuras variācijām mākslinieks nākamgad dosies tūrē slavenās koncertzālēs - Concertgebouw Amsterdamā, Palau de la Música Catalana Barselonā, Kühlhaus Berlīnē un citur.

Programmā skanēs paša Roberta veidotas aranžijas vijolei un stīgu ansamblim, kas savij klasisko un populāro mūziku jaunā, emocionāli bagātā formā. Koncertā Roberts muzicēs kopā ar izciliem stīgu instrumentālistiem no Latvijas un Lielbritānijas, kuri pārstāv vadošos orķestrus un kamermūzikas kolektīvus.

Skanēs arī īpaša aranžija grupas Queen leģendārajam hitam Bohemian Rhapsody, ko Balanas publicēja dziesmas 50. gadadienā un kuras ieraksts ar Velsas Karaliskās mūzikas akadēmijas studentiem guvis plašu rezonansi.

“Šī programma ietver vairākas manas aranžijas vijolei un stīgu ansamblim, instrumentācijai, kas man ļauj izpausties ar neticami plašām skaņu pasaulēm. Un pirmo reizi atskaņot šo mūziku tieši mājās Ziemassvētku laikā… tas būs super!” saka Roberts Balanas.

Roberts Balanas ir pazīstams kā mākslinieks, kurš lauž robežas starp klasisko un mūsdienu mūziku, radot jaunu, enerģētisku un spilgtu skanējumu. Ar savām oriģinālajām aranžijām solo vijolei viņš guvis miljoniem skatījumu sociālajos tīklos un kļuvis par vienu no atpazīstamākajiem Latvijas mūziķiem pasaulē. Viņa vijoles virtuozitāti atzinīgi novērtējuši Eltons Džons, Džeikobs Koljers, kā arī grupu Pink Floyd un Vulfpeck dalībnieki.

About the concert

Latvian (electric) violinist Roberts Balanas breaks the boundaries between different musical genres with an eclectic vision. Combining his background in classical music with the sound worlds of pop, rock and funk, his solo arrangements for violin have now collected millions of views on the Internet. Tonight in the Recital Hall he pays tribute to the Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks, who will turn 80 in 2026, as well as playing innovative arrangements of works by Elton John, Billie Eilish and others.

Roberts Balanas violin, electric violin

Works:

Vasks unhurried, gradually flourishing (from Sonata Estiva)

Stevens Mystery of Love

Reich Violin phase

Bush Running up that hill

Björk Anchor song

Pärt Spiegel im Spiegel

Eilish wish you were gay

John Bennie and the jets

Good Friday Concert – Earth
Modest Mussorgsky A Night on Bald Mountain (version by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov)

John Adams Dharma at the Big Sur

Gustav Mahler The Song of the Earth

“I wanted to capture the moment, the so-called ‘shock of recognition,’ when one reaches the edge of the continental land mass,” wrote American composer John Adams about his composition Dharma at the Big Sur. The concerto for six-string electric violin and orchestra was written in 2003 for the opening of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Big Sur is a 150 km stretch of steep coastline in California, between Carmel-by-the-Sea in the north and San Simeon in the south, which inspired Adams to compose the work. In Kassel, Latvian violinist Roberts Balanas will perform this unique piece with his electric violin alongside the State Orchestra.

No less than life and death are at stake in Gustav Mahler’s The Song of the Earth. The superstitious composer, however, struggled with the work—after all, famous predecessors had died after their respective ninth symphonies. In this piece, Mahler sets texts from Hans Bethge’s poetry collection The Chinese Flute, which together convey the cycle of human life and the awareness of earthly transience.

The concert opens with Modest Mussorgsky’s A Night on Bald Mountain. According to music journalist Christoph Vratz, the piece is a “soundtrack for getting chills.” In the version by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, alongside the witches’ sabbath and various eerie moments, the hope for redemption and peace also takes on a central role.

Guest conductor Jānis Liepiņš, a native of Riga, makes his debut in Kassel. Since 2019 he has been First Kapellmeister at the National Theatre Mannheim.

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