Press information, 10 March 2025, Riga. Already this Friday, 14 March, at 19:00 at Hanzas Perons, the concert “LNSO, Andrejs Osokins, Grieg and Dvorak” will take place, where under the direction of promising Finnish conductor Christian Sallinen, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO) will perform outstanding pages of music by Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly and Czech composer Antonin Dvorak, as well as Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg’s famous Piano Concerto, with pianist Andrejs Osokins as soloist.
The concert will feature Hungarian composer and ethnomusicologist Zoltan Kodaly’s work “Dances of Galanta.” This energetic, fiery work was inspired by the musical traditions of Roma ensembles that Kodaly experienced during his childhood in this small Austro-Hungarian (now Slovak) town. The concert will also feature the Piano Concerto written in the youth of Norwegian national Romantic composer Edvard Grieg, which is still considered today one of the most outstanding works in the history of music. Although Grieg was educated in Germany, his music vividly reflects Scandinavian musical intonations, Norway’s untamed nature, and its characteristic mythological figures. Combined with the musical and aesthetic currents typical of the 19th century, Grieg’s musical language achieved a truly colourful expression.
The soloist in the performance of Grieg’s Piano Concerto will be Andrejs Osokins – one of the most active Latvian pianists of the moment, laureate of international piano competitions and of the Great Music Award, who has performed at major European concert halls both in solo recitals and with orchestras under outstanding conductors. The pianist regularly gives masterclasses in Latvia and abroad, heads the Piano Department at the Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music and his own piano class, and is founder and artistic director of the Osokins Freedom Festival. For his concert activities and charitable initiatives supporting Ukraine, he has been awarded the Order of the Three Stars, Officer’s degree.
The second half of the concert offers the chance to enjoy Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony “From the New World,” whose score combines impressions of an exciting journey with a deep longing for home. Dvorak created this symphony while serving as director of the National Conservatory of Music of America. This period resulted in a unique work in which the composer’s European roots – Bohemian, French, German – intertwine with the New World’s American cultural cornerstones – Native American and African American musical intonations – forming a universal, unified worldview.
On the podium will be Finnish conductor Christian Sallinen. His natural feel for the orchestra, already evident at just 23 years of age, has allowed him to work confidently with many leading Finnish orchestras and quickly gain international recognition.
Tickets for the concert are available online. This concert is included in the LNSO Spring Subscription 2025. Doors open at 18:00. More information about LNSO’s 99th season concerts is available on the orchestra’s website in the “Concerts” section, and on its Facebook profile.