We would like to inform you that Frank Peter Zimmermann will not be able to participate in the concerts “LNSO, MAHLER AND WALTON” on 28 August at the Riga Congress Hall and on 29 August at the Embassy of Latgale GORS, where he was scheduled to perform William Walton’s Violin Concerto. In his place, Estonian violinist Hans Christian Aavik will appear with the LNSO, offering audiences a performance of Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto. The second part of the programme remains unchanged – Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 7. Due to these programme changes, the concert title has also been updated to “LNSO, BARBER AND MAHLER’S SEVENTH”.

Updated concert information

Friday, 28 August, 19:00 Riga Congress Hall
LNSO, BARBER AND MAHLER’S SEVENTH

Saturday, 29 August, 18:00 Embassy of Latgale GORS, Great Hall
LNSO VASARNĪCA. LNSO, BARBER AND MAHLER’S SEVENTH

Hans Christian AAVIK – violin
Conductor Andris POGA

Programme:
Samuel BARBER – Violin Concerto
Gustav MAHLER – Symphony No. 7

We were pleasantly surprised at the closing concert of the LNSO’s 100th season when we discovered the young Estonian violinist Hans Christian Aavik, who has enjoyed dazzling success and secured his place among the finest young violinists in Europe. At the end of August – during the LNSO centenary celebrations – he returns to Latvia to perform with the orchestra under the baton of Andris Poga, offering listeners a rendition of one of the gems of American music: Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto. The second half of the concert features Mahler’s enigmatic symphony – the rarely performed Seventh – brought to life through the musical synergy of Andris Poga and the LNSO. Mahler’s Seventh Symphony was last heard in Latvia back in 1999 under the direction of Maestro Sinaisky.

In 1939, when the Violin Concerto was written, Barber was only 29 years old. The young composer received a substantial commission fee (1,000 dollars) from businessman Samuel S. Fels, who ordered the work for his protégé, the talented Odessa‑born violinist Iso Briselli. The premiere was planned for the following January with the Philadelphia Orchestra. While the first two movements pleased the violinist, he asked Barber to revise the third. But how can one “fix” a work created with complete artistic conviction? Briselli eventually withdrew his interest in the concerto; Barber received half of the commission fee for the two “approved” movements, and the full version was not premiered until February 1941 – performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, with the solo part entrusted to Eugene Ormandy. As far as is known, Briselli never performed the concerto.

Information for ticket holders

If you choose not to attend the concert due to the change of soloist or programme, you may return your ticket up until the start of the event.

If you purchased your ticket via Biļešu Paradīze:

You may return the ticket at any physical Biļešu Paradīze ticket office, or by sending the ticket to [email protected] with a note stating that you wish to return it due to the change of soloist or programme.

If you purchased your ticket via the GORS system or at latgalesgors.lv:

Please fill in the application form (available HERE) and submit it at the GORS ticket office / information centre, or send it electronically, signed with a secure electronic signature, to [email protected].

If you purchased a “Vasarnīca” festival TWO SYMPHONIC CONCERTS PASS or a TWO‑DAY PASS

and do not wish to attend the 29 August concert “LNSO, BARBER AND MAHLER’S SEVENTH” due to the programme changes, please write to [email protected].

Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to welcoming you at LNSO concerts.