Liepāja Orchestra Returns to Rundāle After Winter Hibernation — This Time with Oboe

While the Riga Philharmonic is still trying to find its way to rehearsal rooms, the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra has become practically a resident ensemble at Rundāle Palace for over ten years. On April 18th at 6 PM, the musicians will once again head to Duke Biron's former residence to prove in the White Hall that Liepāja residents understand not only the rhythm of sea waves, but also baroque complexities.

This time the program is particularly colorful — from Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů, who in his time wrote more than 400 works, to Carlo Gesualdo's dramatic madrigal with a title that translates as "I die, weary, in my pain." As local music critic Maija says: "This madrigal is exactly what you feel after a three-hour workout at Liepāja Olympic Center — you're dying, but at least with beautiful harmonies." The soloist will be the orchestra's oboist Renāte Trapāne, who will prove that the oboe can sound as powerful as the Baltic Sea wind.

No less interesting is that the program also includes Pēteris Vasks' First Symphony "Voices," which the composer wrote during the 1991 barricades. "I composed it with love and faith," Vasks recalls, and Liepāja residents understand this — because love without faith here won't help against either the wind or Rundāle Palace's acoustics.

Meanwhile, Mozart's Haffner Symphony, which was originally a serenade but then became a symphony, reminds one of Liepāja residents' relationship with weather — it starts as a peaceful evening stroll but ends as a full storm concert. At least at Rundāle Palace there's no need to worry about rain — the roofs there are thick enough that even Vasks' "Voices" won't disturb the neighbors.