This year the world celebrates the 340th anniversary of three Baroque masters — Bach, Handel, and Scarlatti. The program is not only dedicated to these composers but also invites listeners to experience the metamorphoses of their music in the Romantic era. The concert will feature Johann Sebastian Bach’s well-known yet somewhat forgotten in Latvian concert halls Italian Concerto, Ferruccio Busoni’s romantic fantasy on Bach’s Chaconne from the Second Violin Partita, as well as Domenico Scarlatti’s experimental miniatures, distinguished by their unusual innovation for their time.
In the second part of the concert, pianist Aurēlija Šimkus will be joined by the talented pianist and multiple international competition laureate Daumants Liepiņš. Together in duet with Aurēlija Šimkus, he will perform the music of three composers from different eras — Mozart, Ravel, and Lutosławski.
Concert Program:
Johann Sebastian Bach – Italian Concerto in F major, BWV 971
Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti – Keyboard Sonatas in G minor, K. 8 and D major, K. 45
Johann Sebastian Bach/Ferruccio Busoni – Chaconne from the Violin Partita in D minor
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Sonata in C major for four hands, KV 521
Maurice Ravel – Mother Goose Suite for four hands
Witold Lutosławski – Variations on a Theme by Paganini for two pianos
International recognition came to pianist Aurēlija Šimkus in 2013, when the German record company Ars Produktion released her solo album “Scherzo”, which was named Album of the Month by Piano News magazine. Her second solo album “Bach. Ich ruf’ zu dir”, featuring works by Bach, Liszt, and Busoni, earned her the prestigious Echo Klassik award of the German Phono Academy in 2016 in the category Young Artist.
Aurēlija Šimkus has performed at festivals such as Interlaken Classics, Next Generation Festival, Kissingen Summer, the Kurt Weill Festival, the Bonn Schumann Festival, Masters of Tomorrow, and others. She has performed with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, the Kaunas Philharmonic Orchestra, the State Choir Latvija, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Warsaw Symphony Orchestra, the Dortmund Philharmonic, the Georgian Chamber Orchestra, the Orpheum Chamber Orchestra, the Rhineland-Palatinate Philharmonic, and more.
Aurēlija Šimkus gave her very first solo concert at the age of eleven at the Kaunas International Chamber Music Festival. At fifteen, she was invited to participate in the KlavierOlymp competition in Bad Kissingen, where she took 3rd place. In 2014, she received a scholarship from the Dortmund Mozart Society, which enabled her to perform in many places in Germany. That same year, she was invited to the Epannes Piano Academy in Italy, where the masterclass tradition of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli is continued.
Aurēlija Šimkus studied at the Emīls Dārziņš Music Secondary School with Prof. Sergejs Osokins. Since 2017, she has studied at the Cologne University of Music and Dance with Prof. Claudio Martinez Mehner, as well as in Sweden with Prof. Julia Mustonen-Dahlkvist. Since 2023, Aurēlija has furthered her mastery in Italy with Maestro Ingrid Fliter and in Hanover with Prof. Arie Vardi.
Passion and restraint, an imperceptible lightness of touch, and a shattering force radiate from the outwardly simple and sincere Latvian pianist Daumants Liepiņš, whose compelling playing has delighted not only music critics but also juries at the world’s most prestigious piano competitions — among them Maria Canals, George Enescu, Géza Anda, as well as the international competitions in Geneva and Verbier. “A pianist who must be heard”, writes Pianist Magazine, placing Daumants at the top of its list of musicians. His extraordinary talent may have been inherited from his mother, pianist Dina Liepiņa, and has been carefully honed under piano professors in Latvia, Sweden, Spain, and in masterclasses worldwide. As Young Artist of the Year, Daumants Liepiņš received the Latvian Grand Music Award, and as an outstanding talent, he participated in masterclasses with Mitsuko Uchida at New York’s Carnegie Hall.
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For acoustic concerts, theatre performances, as well as other unamplified events, children under the age of seven may not be admitted.
Half an hour before the event begins, a children’s room will be open for children aged three to seven. The children’s room is free of charge. Please register in advance by calling +371 64633303.