Winter evening. The sophistication and elegance of the White Hall of Rundāle Palace combined with the music of the classicism and romantic era create a perfect harmony. The luxurious chandeliers cast a warm light, beautiful lines, noble decorations and the aristocratic atmosphere fill every moment with special magic.
Named after the prominent architect of Liepāja City, Paul Max Bertschy, the Quartet consisting of four outstanding orchestra musicians of the younger generation, this time will team up with one of the most masterful Latvian clarinetists, Egīls Šēfers – a brilliant soloist who is able to give wings even to the most complex musical passages with incredible ease.
Featuring:
Egīls ŠĒFERS (clarinet)
The Berči Quartet:
Gunārs Mūrnieks (violin)
Diāna Reimane (violin)
Elīna Čipāne (viola)
Klāvs Jankevics (cello)
Part I
Jozeph Haydn (1732-1809) Sunrise quartet op. 76 No. 4
I. Allegro con spirito
II. Adagio
III. Menuetto. Allegro
IV. Finale. Allegro, ma non-troppo
Maija Einfelde (1939) “Sad serenades” for string quartet and clarinet (“Three chants for a dying sea”)
I. Molto moderato
II. Allegretto
III. Adagio
Part II
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Clarinet quartet K378 (after K317b)
I. Allegro Moderato
II. Andante sostenuto e cantabile
III. Rondo: Allegro
Pēteris Vasks (1946) String quartet No. 3 (“Christmas quartet”)
I. Moderato
II. Allegro energico
III. Adagio
IV. Moderato – Allegro
The Berči Quartet
Named after the renowned Liepāja architect Paul Max Berči, the quartet features four outstanding orchestral musicians of the younger generation, who delight listeners with their refined interplay of violins, viola, and cello. The chamber ensemble's repertoire spans almost 500 years of music history, from the greatest Baroque classics – Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, and others – to contemporary composers.
Initially, the ensemble was formed as the Berči Trio, uniting Liepāja Symphony Orchestra musicians Gunārs Mūrnieks (violin), Diāna Reimane (violin), and Elīna Čipāne (viola). When cellist Klāvs Jankevics began working in Liepāja, he was invited to join the collective, and the quartet was formed.
The Berči Quartet has participated in the "Rimbenieks" festival organized by the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra and has also actively performed in cultural venues throughout Latvia.
"It is not enough to play only in the orchestra, especially at our age when we are developing as musicians. We all enjoy playing chamber music, so it seemed logical to form a quartet and play," explains Klāvs Jankevics in an interview with Latvijas Radio 3.
Egīls Šēfers (1978)
Clarinetist Egīls Šēfers is a musician whose playing is characterized by technical mastery and thoughtful, polished artistic performance. He is often called one of the most active Latvian musicians, who seems to have more time than others.
Alongside his own concert activities, he has devoted himself to promoting Latvian music at home and abroad with inexhaustible fighting spirit and a sense of mission. He is the founder and producer of the national record company "SKANI" and, since 2018, the director of the Latvian Music Information Centre.
In 2013, Egīls Šēfers received the Grand Music Award in the category "For Outstanding Interpretation". He was also nominated for the Grand Music Award in 2012 and 2018. In 2013, Egīls Šēfers was recognized as "Instrumentalist of the Year" in the LR3 "Klasika" annual review of events.
As a soloist, he has collaborated with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra "Sinfonietta Rīga", and the Latvian Radio Choir. However, Egīls says: "I have never strived to be a soloist - it is lonely because your partner, your opponent in the fight, is yourself. I don't like that! Rather - when I am together with like-minded people. When you have 'wingmen'. It's a much more intimate and personal affair." (LR3 "Klasika")
In chamber music, he has played with the Spīķeri Quartet, the Liepāja String Quartet, pianists Toms Ostrovskis, Agnese Egliņa, Dzintra Erliha, Juris Žvikovs, flutist Ilona Meija, cellist Gunta Ābele, singer Ieva Parša, and also played in the "Amber Coast Trio" with Ēriks Kiršfelds and Toms Ostrovskis. He was the founder and leader of the clarinet quartet "Contraverso".
Since 2008, he has been a member of the Danish wind quintet "Carion" and has participated in the release of five "Carion" albums, which have earned not only rave reviews from critics but also awards from Danish Radio.
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
The Austrian composer Joseph Haydn is considered one of the greatest masters of the Classical period. String quartets occupy a significant place in his creative output, and one of the most striking examples is the "Sunrise Quartet", written in 1797.
By this time, Haydn was already 65 years old and had returned to Vienna after a long and fruitful stay in London, where he gained wide recognition and considerable popularity. During his time in London, Haydn became acquainted with new musical trends, which are also reflected in his late works, including the "Sunrise Quartet".
This piece is part of a cycle of six string quartets dedicated to the Hungarian Count Joseph Erdődy. The third quartet in the cycle is called the "Emperor Quartet", its second movement being a set of variations on the melody we know as the German national anthem.
The fourth quartet from the cycle will be performed in the concert.
In 1797, when the piece was composed, the aftermath of the French Revolution continued in Europe, Napoleon Bonaparte's troops were victorious in Italy, and political instability reigned in the world. This tension and anticipation of change may have also influenced Haydn's work, giving the "Sunrise Quartet" a certain drama and emotional depth.
The quartet's name "Sunrise" comes from the slow introduction of the first movement, in which the violin melody resembles a slowly rising sun. This movement is calm and harmonious, creating a feeling of light and hope. The other three movements are more dynamic and contrasting, reflecting different emotions and moods.
The "Sunrise Quartet" is one of Haydn's masterpieces, which is still highly valued and frequently performed. It is a vivid example of Classical music, combining elegance, sophistication, and emotional depth.
Maija Einfelde (1939)
Maija Einfelde is a Latvian composer and music pedagogue. She has gained international recognition for her choral and chamber music works.
Born in Valmiera into a family of five children of an organ builder. After the death of her father during World War II, the family moved to Viļķene, where her mother played the organ in St. Catherine's Church.
She studied at Viļķene Primary School, Alfrēds Kalniņš Cēsis Music Secondary School, and Jāzeps Mediņš Riga Music Secondary School. In 1966, she graduated from Jāzeps Vītols Latvian State Conservatory, where she studied composition under Professor Jānis Ivanovs. From 1968 onwards, she taught composition and theoretical subjects at Alfrēds Kalniņš Cēsis Music Secondary School, Jāzeps Mediņš Riga Music Secondary School, and Emīls Dārziņš Special Music School.
In 1997, Maija Einfelde submitted her chamber oratorio for mixed choir "Pie zemes tālās..." ("At the Distant Earth...") to the Barlow Endowment for Music Competition in the USA. This piece, set to the words of the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus' tragedy "Prometheus Bound", was written for the Latvian Radio Choir. She won first prize in the competition, which had 299 participants. In the same year, she was awarded the Latvian Grand Music Award.
In 2002, the composer was elected an Honorary Member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, and in 2020, she received the Grand Music Award for lifetime achievement.
Maija Einfelde has slowly and diligently shaped her image and stylistic world, influenced by Latvia's most important symphonist, Jānis Ivanovs. The composer's favorite genres are chamber music and choral music, in which she brings to life historical, mythological, universal, and autobiographical themes. Her music is balanced, restrained, often even very stark, because "life is not so beautiful to write beautiful music."
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
The Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the greatest geniuses of classical music of all time. His incredibly vast and diverse creative legacy encompasses symphonies, operas, concertos, chamber music, and many other genres. Mozart's music is characterized by an elegant melodic language, sophisticated harmony, and expressive emotional depth, capable of moving and inspiring listeners for centuries.
Composed in Vienna in 1781, the Quartet for Clarinet and String Trio KV 378 is one of Mozart's most elegant and joyful chamber music works. This piece is connected to another of Mozart's works - the Violin Sonata KV 379. Inspired by this sonata, Mozart created the Quartet for Clarinet and String Trio, adapting some of the sonata's material for the new instrumentation - clarinet, violin, viola, and cello.
At the time of the quartet's composition, Mozart had become acquainted with the outstanding clarinetist Anton Stadler, to whom he also dedicated this work. Stadler's virtuosity and the beauty of the clarinet's timbre inspired Mozart to create this wonderful piece, which is still considered one of the most important works in the clarinet repertoire.
The quartet's popularity was also fostered by its harmonic balance between the clarinet and the string trio, which allows all the instruments to stand out while creating a unified musical fabric. This piece is an excellent example of Classical-era chamber music, radiating elegance and sophistication.
Pēteris Vasks (born 1946)
Pēteris Vasks is one of the most internationally renowned Latvian composers.
Over the course of his creative life, he has transformed from an avant-garde-minded, young and fierce composer who spoke the language of modernist music into a grand painter of the eternal interplay between good and evil, with a universally understood sonic expression corresponding to the principles of the so-called new simplicity.
In his music, Vasks speaks of fundamental things – the struggle of light with darkness, reflections of nature in sound art, echoes of birdsongs admired by the composer, moments of catharsis, the destinies of our nation and all humanity, marked by the past, chaos in the present, and hope for the future.
An integral part of Pēteris Vasks' music is the use of motifs and themes characteristic of Latvian folk music – these are not direct quotes, but rather sound combinations found in some genetic source, which immediately create a sense of belonging for those familiar with Latvian folk music.
"Christmas – Peace on Earth" is the leading motif of the Third String Quartet, also known as the Christmas Quartet; it is a story about faith and hope.
The first movement of the piece uses themes from a well-known Christmas carol, while the second movement is strongly influenced by Latvian folk songs and dances. The third movement, with chromaticism strongly reminiscent of Dmitri Shostakovich, explores and questions the possibility of any peace in our society. The final, calm and slightly melancholic movement, however, symbolizes "Peace on Earth."
The Concert is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and State Culture Capital Foundation.
INFORMATION FOR OUR VISITORS:
The seats in the White Hall of Rundāle Palace are not numbered.
Discounts:
Pupils, students, disabled persons, pensioners – 5 euros
3+ family card holders – 5 euros
Teachers, lecturers and medical workers – 5 euros
When attending the concert, the visitor must present a document certifying their eligibility to a discount.
