Participants:

Artūrs Noviks, accordion and acordine

Riga Saxophone Quartet:

Katrīna Kivleniece – Cābule, soprano saxophone

Aigars Raumanis, alto saxophone

Ainars Šablovskis, tenor saxophone

Baiba Tilhena, baritone saxophone

Jānis Ozols, head of concert

In the program:

Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, György Ligeti,

Astor Piazzolla, Gorka Hermosa, Kārlis Lācis, etc.

About the program:

The experienced Riga Saxophone Quartet celebrated its 30th anniversary last year! The repertoire of the ensemble is stylistically and genre diverse, and the international scope of the geography of its concerts is no less impressive. The concert program of this quartet will also allow you to feel the breadth of the world – in it, the quartet will play with the broad-minded accordionist Artūrs Noviks, who will also play acordine, a unique instrument rarely heard in Latvia! Along with pages from Antonio Vivaldi’s sparklingly imaginative cycle “Seasons”, ancient dances set to the suites of Vivaldi’s contemporary Johann Sebastian Bach will also be played, and the exquisite masterpiece Musica Ricercata for accordion solo by 20th century classicist György Ligeti will be placed next to the baroque music. Contrasting moods will be brought to the program by the tango king Astor Piazzolla and jazz saxophonist Gerry Mulligan’s song “Years of Solitude”, full of bitterness and melancholy, as well as the fiery sun and passion-filled “Iberia Dances” by Basque accordionist and composer Gorka Hermosa and a score specially composed for these musicians by Latvian melodist Kārlis Lācis with inspiration from Latvian folk song “Jūriņ prasa” or “The sea asks”.