Sunday evening’s “Classics” live from Tartu’s Vanemuine Great Hall – the central event of the “Baltic and Estonian Music Day” festival!
It is significant that the festival was opened on April 26 by our ensemble Altera veritas two days ago, but the trio will close the festival on May 5 Tempus Balticus. We know that the cellist Māra Botmane also plays music in this ensemble together with the Estonian musicians Roberta Traksman and Johan Randveri.
About the festival
Since 2021, the Composers’ Unions of the three Baltic States have been organizing the “Baltic Music Days” festival. Every year the festival takes place in a different Baltic country. The first online festival was organized by the Estonian Composers’ Union. The second home of the festival was the 2022 European Capital of Culture Kaunas.
In 2023, “Baltic Music Days” took place for the first time in Riga and Cēsis.
This year, the festival, complementing Estonian Music Days, takes place in Tartu, which bears the name of the European Capital of Culture.
The Estonian Music Days began in 1979, and since then the festival has been a calling card of Estonian composers. For several years now, the artistic directors of the festival have been Helena Tulve and Timo Steiners, the author of the idea of the Tartu program this year is Merts Matis Lills, (because his hometown is Tartu).
“This year, the theme of the festival is the term of the Baltic German naturalist Jakob von Uekskile Umweltwhich could be translated as environment, at the same time sense, perception,” says composer Helena Tulve.
Biologist Jakob von Ueckskile devoted his life to studying how animals perceive the world, and to describe it he adapted the term Umwelt.
Although we cannot accurately see the world through the eyes of another, it is fascinating to imagine how a centipede, grasshopper, fish or butterfly perceives and understands it. There can be many in one person umwelt, which overlap only partially – our ears hear one thing, but our eyes and fingers describe a completely different world. The composers are reflecting on this idea again this year at the “Baltic and Estonian Music Days in Tartu”.
As Estonian colleagues invite, come, listen and participate in musical intelligence, or Umwelt!
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Jacob von Uexkill studied zoology at the University of Tartu (1884–1889), continued his research in Heidelberg and Hamburg, Germany. As a professor of zoology at the University of Hamburg, he founded an institute to study the distribution of animals and was its director from 1926 to 1940. In the 1930s, he spent his summers in Estonia at a summer residence in Puhtulaiu, Lene County, Estonia, where the Puhtu Biological Station is now located.
About tonight’s concert
One of the highlights of Estonian Music Days every year is IGaunian National Symphony Orchestra (ENSO) concert. The concert will be led by a British conductor Clement Powerwho is well known as an interpreter of new music.
The Estonian National Orchestra has supported the Ukrainian independence fighters and the Ukrainian people in various ways, helping to organize the Odessa Classical Music Festival and starting every concert with the Ukrainian national anthem since 2022.
A special tradition of the festival since 2016 is the prize for the best new work of an Estonian composer presented by the Estonian LHV Bank and the Estonian Composers’ Union.
This concert will also start with an award ceremony! The purpose of the award is to draw the public’s attention to contemporary music, to help the music of Estonian ensembles gain recognition abroad as well.
Along with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, a cellist will also participate Valle Rasmus Roth (Roots)but the conductor, as already mentioned, will be Clement Power (Power)
Together with Estonian and Lithuanian Radio colleagues, we will conduct the live broadcast from Tartu in three languages.
In the program:
Margo Kellar – … just one word…
Lisa Hebepapel – And now it is still now (preliminary)
Age Verosa Harpyia – Concerto for cello and orchestra (première)
Linda Leiman – Enantiomorphic Chambers
Justina Repečkaite – Vellum
Marius Baranauskas – Supernova (preliminary)
Composer Helena Tulve says:
Latvijas Radio invites you to express your opinion about what you heard in the program and supports discussions among listeners, however, reserves the right to delete comments that violate the boundaries of respectful attitude and ethical behavior.
Tags: Baltic Estonian Music Days festival concert Tartu Vanemuine concert hall LR3 Latvijas Radio
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