Flowering Jasmine. South Kurzeme Festival RIMBENIEKS

Featuring:

• Bertschy Quartet:
  • Gunārs Mūrnieks (violin)
  • Diāna Reimane (violin)
  • Elīna Čipāne (viola)
  • Klāvs Jankevics (cello)
• Marta Kauliņa-Pelnēna (marimba, vibraphone)

Programme:

• Georgs Pelēcis (1947) Flowering Jasmine
• Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) String Quartet No. 12 (American Quartet)
• Mario Carro (1979) Dance me
• Valentin Jost (1920-2007) Here & Now
• Éric Sammut (1968) Rotation 4

On a summer evening in Gramzda, the silence of the church becomes a stage for sound, as the Bertschy Quartet, together with percussionist Marta Kauliņa-Pelnēna, invites the audience to a musical dialogue where classical meets contemporary, and gentleness meets strength.

Georgs Pelēcis’ Flowering Jasmine is a piece that speaks not only of a fragrant bloom. In many cultures, jasmine is associated with purity, love, and hope. Its blooming—especially after darkness or winter—is often interpreted as a symbol of rebirth. Similarly, Gramzda Church itself stands as a symbol of enduring hope: destroyed and burned multiple times, yet always restored.

Antonín Dvořák’s American Quartet—one of the most frequently performed chamber music works—brings warmth, homesickness, and melodic vitality to the programme. Meanwhile, the works of contemporary composers—Mario Carro’s Dance me, Valentin Jost’s Here & Now, and Éric Sammut’s Rotation 4—offer three distinct voices that speak of movement, presence, and the inner world of the human spirit.

The South Kurzeme Festival “Rimbenieks” is implemented within the framework of the “Liepāja 2027” programme, with funding provided by the Ministry of Culture, the State City of Liepāja, and the municipalities of South Kurzeme and Kuldīga. The festival is supported by LSEZ Terrabalt SIA.