New Music Festival "Arēna"

The New Music Festival "Arēna" has brought together composers of new music, performers, and listeners from many countries in Latvian concert halls every autumn since 2002. The festival motto, "Hear the Future!" expresses the festival's main idea and goal - to showcase the diversity of contemporary music in all its splendor, while fostering the creation, performance, and documentation of new music. This is one of the most innovative cultural events in Latvia, and without it the systematic and logical development of contemporary music culture in Latvia would be unimaginable.

Program

Opening concert of the festival. PĒTERIS VASKS QUARTET

Tuesday, 27 October, 7:00 p.m. at the Riga Reformed Church

Featuring: Pēteris Vasks Quartet: Magdalēna Geka (violin), Egīls Šēfers (clarinet), Kristaps Bergs (cello), Iveta Cālīte (piano)

Program: Olivier Messiaen, Arvo Pärt, Pēteris Vasks

OMENS

Thursday, 29 October, 7:00 p.m. at the Riga Reformed Church

Featuring: Helēna Sorokina (voice), Krassimir Sterev (accordion, Bulgaria), Marco Sala (clarinet, bass clarinet, Italy/Austria)

Program: Giacinto Scelsi, Beat Furrer, Chaya Czernowin, Rebecca Saunders, Samir Odeh-Tamimi, new works by Klaus Lang and Santa Bušs

LIGHT OF DARKNESS

Sunday, 1 November, 6:00 p.m. at the Riga Reformed Church

Featuring: Woodpecker Project: Andris Dzenītis, Gatis Zaķis, Ritvars Garoza (electronics), Arvīds Kazlausks (saxophones) and JVLMA students

Program: Works by Woodpecker Project and students of the JVLMA Composition Department

CONVERSATIONS WITH FELDMAN

Thursday, 5 November, 7:00 p.m. at the Riga Reformed Church

Featuring: Andrzej Karałow (piano), Kaspars Kurdeko (percussion)

Program: Morton Feldman, improvisations by Andrzej Karałow and Kaspars Kurdeko

THE RAPE OF EUROPE. Gundega Šmite and Dimitris Maronidis electroacoustic chamber opera

Friday, 13 November, 7:00 p.m. at Hanzas Perons

Program: Premiere of Gundega Šmite and Dimitris Maronidis' chamber opera

Featuring: Ensemble EUNOIA, Katrīna Neiburga (set design), Oskars Pauliņš (lighting)