Opening concert of the South Kurzeme music festival “Rimbenieks”

Event venue: Grobiņa Evangelical Lutheran Church

Featuring:

• Gunta Gelgote (soprano)
• Chamber enesmble “Sonore Antiqua”:
  • Līga Baltābola (violin)
  • Jānis Baltābols (violin)
  • Zane Baltābola (violin)
  • Baiba Lasmane (violin)
  • Annija Elizabete Meija (viola)
  • Dina Puķīte (cello)
  • Gertrūda Krauksta (harpsichord)

Programme:

• Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) Concerto grosso
• Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) “Salve Regina”
• Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) Concerto for two violins
• George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) “Angels, ever bright and fair” from the oratory “l trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno”
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Fifth Brandenburg Concerto
• George Frideric Handel | “Verdi prati, selve amene” from the opera “Alcina”
• Johann Sebastian Bach | Coral “Jesus bleibet meine Freude”

In August, the musicians of the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra will once again go on a musical journey through the South Kurzeme region, discovering for themselves and others new and beautiful places where we can all meet in music.

At the opening of the festival “Rimbenieks”, on August 2nd at the Grobiņa Evangelical Lutheran Church, a meeting with the greatest composers of the Baroque era – Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, Arcangelo Corelli and George Frideric Telemann is expected. The works of the great composers will be interpreted by the ensemble “Sonore Antiqua”, already well-known to the audience, which will be joined by soprano Gunta Gelgote.

The “Rimbenieks” festival

The “Rimbenieks” festival is an event that has become a beautiful tradition and an expected summer cultural stop for the residents of the region and also for guests from near and far from other parts of Latvia.

This year, the festival, jointly organized by the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra and the South Kurzeme Municipality, will offer music lovers a series of high-quality concerts in various locations – cultural centers, churches, and other special meeting spaces.

From August 2 to 16, the festival concerts will take place in Grobiņa, Bārta, Ziemupe, Aizpute, Gavieze, Medze, Vaiņode and Kazdanga, and will offer a wide musical program – from baroque to contemporary compositions.

This year, the audience at the “Rimbenieks” festival will be delighted by ensembles already known from previous years – the Bertschy Quartet, the Liepāja Horn Quartet, – as well as specially invited friends and associates of the musicians of the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra. For example, soprano Katrīna Felsberga, the string quartet “Nōna” and many other artists.

Unlike previous years, this time the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra concert conducted by Guntis Kuzma at the Kazdanga Culture House will no longer be the opening of the festival, but rather the closing. At the culmination of the festival, on August 16, listeners will have the opportunity to hear Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra, as well as one of the most beautiful pearls of Latvian symphonic music – Emīls Dārziņš’s Melancholic Waltz.

As usual, the festival atmosphere is created not only by the musicians and diverse programs, but also by the concert venues, which give each evening its own unique character.

In addition to the already familiar Kazdanga Culture House, which is a wonderful place for symphonic concerts, Grobiņa Evangelical Lutheran Church, Bārta Culture House, “Rimbenieks” will also visit the Dvēseles veldzes dārzs in Ziemupe, Aizpute Culture House, Gavieze Culture House, Medze Culture House and Vaiņode Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Also this year, all festival concerts are free of charge, so everyone is invited to take advantage of the opportunity and indulge in this summer journey.

The “(un)rest” programme of “Liepāja – European Capital of Culture 2027” is implemented by the Liepāja 2027 Foundation, with funding allocated by the City of Liepāja, the South Kurzeme and Kuldīga municipalities, and the Ministry of Culture. The “Liepāja 2027” programme is supported by its main partner in environmental education and sustainability, AS “CleanR Grupa”, Jsc; its main partner in air mobility and international communications, AS “airBaltic Corporation”, Jsc; its partner in legal matters SIA “Sorainen ZAB”, Ltd; its land mobility partner, SIA “Lux Express Latvia”, Ltd; alongside its maritime mobility and international communication partner SIA “Stena Line”, Ltd; The Foundation’s media partners are: VSIA “Latvijas Sabiedriskais medijs”, Ltd; SIA “Tvnet grupa”, Ltd; and AS “Kurzemes Radio”, Jsc.