Conductor Andris VECUMNIEKS
Programme:
Romualds Kalsons SYMPHONY NO. 4 “NEW DREAMS FROM OLD FAIRY TALES”
Pēteris Plakidis “THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER”
Director Paula Pļavniece
Dramaturge Lauris Gundars
Close your eyes, LeNeSOns, and no cheating – no peeking through your eyelashes! Otherwise I shall fetch a scarf and blindfold you – and then who will look at the giants, the witches, the goddesses of fortune and the devils’ round dances? Who will help the tin soldier out of the fish’s belly and get him home again? Who knows, perhaps we might even rescue that brave little tin heart from the flames of the stove?
At this gathering we shall hear music written by two elderly Latvian gentlemen. One of them is a decidedly serious man. He knows the orchestra inside out and knows exactly which instruments to combine to conjure up fabulous sound effects – a little fright with giants, a little entertainment from sprightly, dance-minded devils, and a touch of happiness too, for how could it be otherwise when we meet Laimesmāte, the goddess of fortune herself! This gentleman’s name is Romualds Kalsons.
The other is Pēteris Plakidis – a great sage. There is no music he does not know, no piano work he has not played. The surname Plakidis shows that this man has Greeks among his kin, and not just any Greeks, but the ancient ones who thousands of years ago went to the oracle at Delphi for advice and knew that the gods must never be provoked by pride; no, the gods like a little music made in their honour and a few stories told, both true and invented – about tin soldiers, for instance, and wondrously beautiful paper dancers. How this story ends you will discover once you close your eyes!