Gisela JOÃO — voice
Aurēlija ŠIMKUS — piano
Guitarist: TBC
Conductor Rui Miguel MARQUES
Programme:
Antonín DVOŘÁK — Overture Carnival
Manuel DE FALLA — Two Suites from the ballet The Three-Cornered Hat
Franz LISZT — Spanish Rhapsody
Traditional Fado music
Gisela João is one of Portugal’s most powerful voices — authentic and emotionally charged. Aurēlija ŠIMKUS delights not only Latvia but all of Europe and has received many internationally significant awards, while the surprisingly talented conductor Rui Miguel MARQUES, at just twenty-two years old, has already collaborated with world-class orchestras.
Dvořák’s overture “Carnival” evokes the feeling of a solitary, contemplative wanderer who strays into the epicentre of a city carnival. It is a life-affirming and heady composition. Falla’s emotionally charged suites awaken the imagination with Andalusian passion and a vivid fandango. Liszt’s “Spanish Rhapsody”, one of the composer’s best-known works, draws inspiration from Spanish traditional folk music and demands virtuosic elegance in performance. And the plaintive fado needs no further comment.