LNSO leaves the Great Guild for two years. Where will concerts take place?

As it begins its 99th concert season, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO) is taking a step outside the ordinary, leaving its home – the Great Guild – for the duration of the building’s renovation works. However, the orchestra has made sure the new season will be full of exciting musical experiences, continuing to delight audiences at Hanzas Perons, the House of the Riga Latvian Society, the Music House “Daile,” as well as concert halls across Latvia.

On 17 May, the Great Guild will host the closing concert of the 2023/2024 season. It will be the last concert before the Great Guild building closes its doors for two years to undergo significant improvements.

In the new season, the orchestra will not only travel to meet audiences in ever-changing concert halls, but the chosen repertoire also promises to be full of splendid musical surprises, including symphonic concerts with acclaimed Latvian and international artists.

Already on Saturday, 21 September, at 17:00, the orchestra will welcome audiences at Latgale Embassy GORS. Under the direction of LNSO artistic director and chief conductor Tarmo Peltokoski, audiences will be able to enjoy Arturs Maskats’ “Tango,” Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Sinfonia antartica.”

On Saturday, 5 October, at 19:00 at the House of the Riga Latvian Society, the LNSO podium will welcome legendary maestro Jorma Panula, the “father” of the Finnish conducting school. The concert will feature Richard Strauss’ Oboe Concerto with soloist Egils Upatnieks, and Jean Sibelius’ Second Symphony.

On Saturday, 12 October, at 19:00 at Hanzas Perons, the concert “LNSO, Santa Vizine and maestro Sinaisky” will take place. The programme includes Adolfs Skulte’s symphonic poem “Waves,” William Walton’s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, and Antonin Dvorak’s Eighth Symphony. This concert is included in the LNSO Autumn Subscription 2024.

LNSO’s chamber music concerts will henceforth take place at the Music House “Daile,” where audiences will be welcomed for the first time this new season with a programme including Juste Janulyte’s “Confluere,” Johannes Brahms’ Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 40.

On Friday, 1 November, at 19:00 at Hanzas Perons, and Saturday, 2 November, at 17:00 at the Cesis Concert Hall, audiences will have the chance to attend the concert “LNSO, Tarmo Peltokoski and Strauss’ ‘Salome'” with Lithuanian soprano Vida Miknevičiūtė. The concert will feature music by Olivier Messiaen and Claude Debussy, as well as excerpts from Richard Strauss’ opera “Salome.”

On Friday, 8 November, at 19:00 at Hanzas Perons, conducted by Andris Poga, there will be a wonderful opportunity to enjoy accordionist Ksenija Sidorova’s performance in the concert “LNSO, Ksenija Sidorova and Andris Poga.” The programme includes Arturs Maskats’ Concerto for Accordion and Orchestra, Rolf Wallin’s “Act,” and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony. This concert is included in the LNSO Autumn Subscription 2024.

On Thursday, 28 November, at 19:00 at the Music House “Daile,” the concert “LNSO, Maskats and Mendelssohn” will take place. In the performance of Arturs Maskats’ Second Cello Concerto – a work by the LNSO’s 99th season composer-in-residence – the orchestra will be joined on stage by soloist Kristaps Bergs.

Conductor Tarmo Peltokoski will give his final concerts in Latvia in 2024 on Thursday, 19 December, at 19:00 at Hanzas Perons, and Friday, 20 December, at 19:00 at the “Latvija” concert hall. Under his direction, the orchestra will perform Sergei Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony. The solo part in the Piano Concerto will be performed by the promising Finnish-Cuban pianist Anton Mejias. The 19 December concert is included in the LNSO Autumn Subscription 2024.

This season, audiences at several Latvian concert halls will also be delighted by the LNSO New Year’s Concerts: on Sunday, 29 December, at 17:00 at the Cesis Concert Hall; Monday, 30 December, at 17:00 at Latgale Embassy GORS; and on 3 and 4 January, at 19:00 at Hanzas Perons. The programme includes music by Bela Bartok, Antonin Dvorak, Maurice Ravel, Richard Strauss and Pablo Sarasate. Performing with the orchestra will be Ukrainian violinist Bohdan Luts, with Aivis Greters on the podium. The 3 January LNSO New Year’s Concert is included in the LNSO Autumn Subscription 2024.

The LNSO’s new season has not forgotten the youngest fans of academic music, offering several concert programmes at Hanzas Perons featuring the children’s beloved character LeNeSOns. On Saturday, 19 October, in two performances (at 11:00 and 14:00), young audiences will enjoy “LeNeSOns’ Adventures in Southern Europe,” while on Saturday, 30 November, the musical event “LeNeSOns Heads North” awaits. These, along with two further concert performances in 2025, are included in the “LeNeSOns” children’s concert series subscription.

On Thursday, 12 December, at 19:00 at Hanzas Perons, audiences will also be able to enjoy an instalment of the beloved series for young people and classical music beginners, “Symphonic Hit with Goran Gora.” This time, in an exciting combination, Antonio Vivaldi’s famous “The Four Seasons” will meet the electric cello (soloist Valters Puce, conductor Arturs Oskars Mitrevics). The subscription for this concert series, which also includes two further concerts in spring 2025, is available for purchase.

Tickets for LNSO’s new season concerts can be purchased at Bilesu Paradize outlets, as well as online.