From March 8 to 22 the Liepāja 400th International Star Festival will bring together outstanding artists and dazzling compositions. In addition to large-scale concerts with the participation of the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, the Stars festival program, as usual, also includes specially selected chamber music that will highlight the finest nuances of contemporary sounds.
On March 21st at 7 pm in the chamber hall of the concert hall “Lielais dzintars” one of the festival's most exquisite pearls will be performed – a concert by the chamber ensemble "Altera Veritas" and soprano Katrīna Paula Felsberga. It will be a musical conversation between instruments and voice, in which the spectrum of contemporary chamber music will unfold from the most delicate nuances to expressive contrasts.
The chamber ensemble "Altera veritas" describes its creative activity like this: new music, chamber music, another truth about kokle, accordion and flute. In Latin the words "altera veritas" mean exactly that – "another truth".
The ensemble was created in 1999, and over more than 20 years Latvian (and not only Latvian) composers have dedicated more than 90 compositions to "Altera veritas".
In collaboration with such composers as Valdis Zilveris, Imants Mežaraups, Andris Dzenītis, Mārtiņš Viļums, Gundega Šmite, Peter Helms, Līga Celma-Kursiete, Agnis Meisters, Ēriks Ešenvalds, Nic Gotham, Marina Gribinčika, Miriam Talli (Estonia), Dimitris Maronidis (Greece), Indra Riše, Pēteris Plakidis, Vilnis Šmīdbergs, Jēkabs Nīmanis and many others, in its lifetime the ensemble has created many brilliant concert programmes. The ensemble has also participated in the staging of the opera "Augļu koks ir Jāzeps" by Ēriks Ešenvalds at the Latvian National Opera.
The chamber ensemble will also be joined by soprano Katrīna Paula Felsberga, who received the "Great Music Award 2023" in the "Young Musician of the Year" category.
Felsberga will perform songs by Arturs Maskats set to the poetry of Ojārs Vācietis. Together with the ensemble, she will also premiere Raivis Misjuns’ chamber cantata White Bridges of Clouds.
“The song cycle for soprano and ensemble reflects the emotional world of Fricis Bārda – his feelings, nature imagery, and inner experiences. The selected poetry carries a magical and profound presence of nature and its significance in human life. The cycle is structured as a chamber cantata for soloist and ensemble, guiding the listener through diverse dramatic landscapes,” says Raivis Misjuns about the new work.
The Star Festival program can be found HERE. Tickets for the Festival concerts can be purchased at "Biļešu Paradīze" ticket offices and www.bilesuparadize.lv.
The 33rd Liepāja International Stars Festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, the State Culture Capital Foundation, the Liepāja City.
