October 02, 2009
Rīga-based Upe tuviem un tāliem has released a new recording, on compact disc and—in a rare occurrence for Latvian music—on vinyl, of what is perhaps composer Imants Kalniņš’s most popular symphonic work, “Symphony No. 4.”
The work, composed in 1973, features a hybrid of symphonic music and rock music. The version on this CD was recorded earlier this year in Liepāja by the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Imants Resnis. It features mezzosoprano Ieva Parša performing the vocal solo (lyrics from Kelly Cherry’s Lovers and Agnostics: Poems as well as quotes from poetry by Robert Browning). Also heard, in the first and fourth movements, is Vilnis Krieviņš, a well-known Latvian drummer who has performed with the rock group Līvi.
When the symphony was first composed, Soviet authorities forbade the performance of the fourth movement, but this recording restores it.
This is not the first release of ““Symphony No. 4” on CD. In 1998, Rīga-based MICREC released the symphony as a live performance conducted by Resnis. The following year, the Swedish label BIS released a recording by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lan Shui. What is different about the Upe tuviem un tāliem recording is that it is the first release of a studio recording of the symphony.
For more information about Kalniņš, visit the Web site of the Latvian Music Information Centre, www.lmic.lv.
Egils Kaljo is an American-born Latvian from the New York area who lives in Rīga, Latvia. When not working in the information technology field, he sings in the Latvian Academy of Culture mixed choir Sõla, does occasional translation work, and has been known to sing and play guitar at the Folkklubs Ala Pagrabs in Old Rīga. Kaljo began listening to Latvian music as soon as he was able to put a record on a record player, and still has old Bellacord 78 rpm records lying around somewhere.
