Liepāja’s 400th Anniversary International Star Festival to Open with a Grand Concert

On Saturday, March 8, the Liepāja International Star Festival, organized by the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, will shine for the 33rd time.

The festival will take place at the “Great Amber” concert hall until March 22. This year, marking the 400th anniversary of Liepāja, the festival will emphasize piano music in tribute to its origins.

During this anniversary festival, audiences will be treated to five concerts, offering a journey through the vast world of music, with stops at symphonic classicism and romanticism, jazz, chamber music, and opera.

The opening concert on Saturday, March 8, at 18:00 will feature one of the world’s most sought-after cellists, German artist Daniel Müller-Schott, performing Camille Saint-Saëns’ First Cello Concerto with the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra. The concert will also introduce emerging performers.

“As has been the tradition since the festival’s inception, many young artists have been discovered here, including Agnese Egliņa and Elīna Bērtiņa, who have since become grand masters themselves,” says the festival’s artistic director, Guntis Kuzma.

For the third time, the festival will be opened by young talents – laureates of the Valdis Vikmanis Latvian Young Performers’ Competition, creating a unique musical experience that blends youthful passion with the maturity of seasoned masters. Their performances will bring a bold, distinctive, and captivating sound to the festival.

Regarding the jury’s selection process for young musicians, Guntis Kuzma explains: “The key criterion is how the musician communicates and what they convey. While the technical level is high across the board, the final decision is usually based on the artist’s uniqueness.”

This year’s opening concert will feature four laureates of the Valdis Vikmanis Latvian Young Performers’ Competition. Saxophonist Teisija Terēze Puncule will perform Paul Maurice’s Tableaux de Provence, violinist Sofija Vasecka will present Henryk Wieniawski’s Brilliant Fantasy on Themes from Gounod’s Faust, saxophonist Paula Marta Jonuša will play Ronald Binge’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone, and pianist Rūta Zaure will interpret the first movement of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 13.

The concert’s grand musical highlight will be Camille Saint-Saëns’ virtuoso Cello Concerto No. 1, known for its expressive interpretations and dazzling technique, performed by the outstanding German cellist Daniel Müller-Schott. The New York Times describes him as “an exceptionally expressive and fearless soloist with fiery technique.”

Following the opening, the festival will continue until March 22 with four stylistically diverse concerts.

• On March 14, Austrian cellist and singer deeLinde will collaborate with Brazilian guitarist, trombonist, composer, and conductor Emiliano Sampaio, creating an exotic and engaging musical fusion.
• On March 15, in tribute to the festival’s origins and the contributions of its founder, Imants Rešnis, to putting Liepāja on the world music map, the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra will present a spectacular piano stars concert. It will feature three brilliant piano duos – Agnese Egliņa and Elīna Bērtiņa, Andrejs Osokins and Sergejs Osokins, as well as the French duo “Geister Duo,” consisting of David Salmon and Manuel Vieillard.
• On March 21, the ensemble Altera Veritas will perform a unique concert alongside soprano Katrīna Paula Felsberga.
• On March 22, the festival will conclude with a grand opera gala concert celebrating Liepāja’s 400th anniversary. The Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Ainārs Rubiķis, will be joined by the State Choir Latvija, mixed choir INTIS, choir Laiks, RTU Liepāja Academy Women’s Choir Atbalss, and an ensemble of outstanding soloists – Latvian tenor Aleksandrs Antoņenko, Romanian baritone Bogdan Baciu, and Italian soprano Sara Cortolezzis.

The full festival program is available on the orchestra’s website: hlso.lv.

Tickets for Liepāja Symphony Orchestra concerts are available at Biļešu Paradīze sales points and online: www.bilesuparadize.lv.

The Liepāja 400th Anniversary International Star Festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, the State Culture Capital Foundation, and the City of Liepāja.

For additional information

Iveta Vēvere
Head of Public Relations, Liepāja Symphony Orchestra
E-mail: pr@lso.lv