Vestards Šimkus | Franz Liszt's Romantic Piano Music | at AKUSTIKA cultural space, Valmiera

December is a time for traditions, in our home too. On the second Sunday of Advent, December 6, as every year at the beginning of December, a very special pianist visits Akustika - Vestards Šimkus.

He was the very first to unveil our cultural space's grand piano in 2021. The old, precious "Mignon" instrument was brought back to life by the legendary master, pastor, and head of the Ugāle organ-building workshop Jānis Kalniņš. Since that day, the piano's sound has received endless praise from the most outstanding pianists.

This time, Vestards Šimkus has dedicated this concert program especially to the 19th century's most legendary composer and pianist, Franz Liszt, whose virtuosic and romantic music once created in listeners almost a superhuman and transcendent experience at concerts. It was precisely thanks to Liszt's music and the stories of his life that Vestards Šimkus fell in love with piano playing, classical music, and the creative process of composing at the age of eight, deciding to dedicate his whole life to music.

In this solo concert, the pianist will also tell the audience the most important things about this music, to help everyone experience the breathtaking magic of Liszt's music.

And perhaps this will be the right moment to pause for a while during Advent, listen, and surrender to what music can do.