PĒTERIS VASKS AT 80
The Birthday Concert from Aizpute

To mark the 80th birthday of Pēteris Vasks, Sinfonietta Rīga and the Grammy Award-winning Latvian Radio Choir, conducted by their long-standing chief conductor Sigvards Kļava, presented an extraordinary event: On the composer's birthday, a concert featuring his works took place at St. John's Church in his hometown of Aizpute, featuring exclusively works by Pēteris Vasks and with the composer himself in the audience.

The Latvian Radio Choir was founded in 1940 and is dedicated to a broad repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to the 21st century. It has earned a reputation as a ‘sound laboratory’ primarily through its interpretations of contemporary scores. The Latvian Radio Choir tours worldwide and has been awarded numerous international prizes.

Founded in 2006, Sinfonietta Rīga brings together musicians trained in Latvia and the Baltic States with young musicians from Western Europe. In addition to Western repertoire, Sinfonietta Rīga plays Baltic music and commissions works by contemporary Latvian composers.

Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks was born on 16 April 1946 in Aizpute. He initially studied double bass at the conservatory in Vilnius and, from 1961, played in various important orchestras in his homeland. His talent for composition also became apparent at an early age. At the age of ten, he wrote a choral song, and in 1973 he began studying composition with Valentin Utkin in Riga. The experience of lack of freedom in the Soviet Union is still present in his work today. He also often deals with nature, but without creating romanticised idylls. Rather, he is concerned with the mutual influence of humans and nature and the threat of ecological apocalypse.