As part of the “Liepāja – European Capital of Culture 2027” programme, the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra continues its summer musical journey across South Kurzeme. The “Rimbenieks” Festival has now reached its halfway point, following three memorable concerts in Bārta, Ziemupe and Aizpute. Launched in Grobiņa on 2 August, the festival continues until 16 August, bringing a diverse selection of concert programmes to Gavieze, Medze, Vaiņode and Kazdanga.
On Friday, 7 August, Liepāja Symphony Orchestra harpist Dārta Tisenkopfa-Muselli presented a deeply personal and multifaceted chamber music programme at Bārta Culture Centre. She was joined by flautist Reinis Lapa, violist Elīna Čipāne, clarinettist Guntis Kuzma, cellist Klāvs Jankevics, percussionists Marta Kauliņa-Pelnēna and Matīss Skarevičs, and singer Katrīna Paula Felsberga.
Inspired by the sounds of nature, the programme brought together refined instrumental colours and the expressive intimacy of solo performance. The evening opened with Italian film composer Nino Rota’s chamber music gem, the Sonata for Flute and Harp. This was followed by Olivier Messiaen’s “Abyss of the Birds”, one of the most powerful and emotionally exposed works in the clarinet repertoire, and Claude Debussy’s delicate and ethereal Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp. The concert culminated in a compelling dialogue between avant-garde innovation and musical tradition with Luciano Berio’s celebrated cycle “Folk Songs”.
On Saturday, 8 August, the “Rimbenieks” Festival travelled to the blossoming Dvēseles veldzes dārzs garden in Ziemupe for an evening dedicated to the lyrical and deeply expressive music of Latvian composer Georgs Pelēcis. The programme was carefully curated by Liepāja Symphony Orchestra musicians, violinist Līva Tomiņa and her brother, percussionist Reinis Tomiņš.
Pelēcis’ “Singing Flowers” was performed here for the first time as a complete cycle. The audience also had the opportunity to hear two new works for violin and vibraphone, written by the composer especially for Līva and Reinis.
They were joined by the “Nōna” String Quartet and fellow musicians, violinist Baiba Lasmane and double bassist Toms Timofejevs. The concert opened with blind guitarist Kirils Švidčenko performing Leo Brouwer’s “Un Día de Noviembre”.
On Sunday, 9 August, the “Berči” String Quartet – violinists Gunārs Mūrnieks and Diāna Reimane, violist Elīna Čipāne and cellist Klāvs Jankevics – performed at Aizpute Culture Centre, taking the audience on a musical journey from the Classical clarity of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to the emotionally charged musical language of Pēteris Vasks. The programme culminated in the world premiere of a new work by Alise Rancāne and also featured one of the most recognisable masterpieces of Latvian music, Emīls Dārziņš’ “Melancholic Waltz”, presented in a fresh musical interpretation.
The festival continues on Tuesday, 11 August, at 7.00 p.m. at Gavieze Culture Centre, where the Liepāja Horn Quartet will present a colourful and varied programme bringing together classical masterpieces, passionate rhythms and works by Latvian composers. The warm and powerful sound of the French horn will reveal both international classics and the subtleties of Latvian music, alongside familiar popular rhythms.
On 12 August at 19.00, Rietumkrasta Trio will take the stage at Medze Culture Centre. Clarinettist Kārlis Catlaks will be joined by Georgs Jānis Mažis and Zanda Ciemīte for an evening featuring guitar, piano, clarinet and bass clarinet. The programme will include well-known and much-loved songs by Goran Gora, Kārlis Kazāks, Māra Upmane-Holšteina, “The Sound Poets”, Ainars Mielavs, Uldis Stabulnieks, Imants Kalniņš and other songwriters, inviting the audience to join in for a warm and heartfelt evening of music.
On 13 August 19.00, oboist Renāte Trapāne will introduce audiences at Vaiņode Evangelical Lutheran Church to the rich and diverse world of 20th-century woodwind repertoire. Together with flautist Alise Anna Alksne, clarinettist Madara Eleonora Mežale and bassoonist Edgars Karpenskis Allažs, she will perform a varied programme ranging from the late Romanticism of Karl Goepfart and the elegant, witty Neoclassicism of Jean Françaix to the virtuosic and colourful instrumental writing of Eugène Bozza. The concert will also feature Tālivaldis Ķeniņš’ Trio for Flute, Clarinet and Bassoon, a work that has recently gained renewed attention within the Latvian music repertoire.
The festival will culminate on 16 August at 17.00 at Kazdanga Culture Centre with a concert by the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra conducted by Guntis Kuzma. The programme will feature Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra, and one of the finest gems of Latvian symphonic music – Emīls Dārziņš’ “Melancholic Waltz”.
Admission to all festival concerts is free.
The full festival programme is available on the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra website: www.lso.lv/festivali/rimbenieks
The South Kurzeme festival “Rimbenieks” is organized as part of the foundation “Nodibinājums Liepāja 2027.” The 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, the Ministry of Culture, and the State Culture Capital Foundation. 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”, legal partner: Sorainen Law Office, Ltd., Jsc; and its land mobility partner, SIA “Lux Express Latvia”, Ltd. Media partners: VSIA “Latvijas Sabiedriskais medijs”, Ltd. and AS “Kurzemes Radio”, Jsc.
Photos: Ēvalds Vanags, Elvita Petrauska, Gundars Čiževskis
On Sunday, 2 August, the South Kurzeme Festival Rimbenieks opened with a concert by the Baroque ensemble Sonore Antiqua at Grobiņa Lutheran Church. Until 16 August, audiences can enjoy a diverse programme of concerts in Bārta, Ziemupe, Aizpute, Gavieze, Medze, Vaiņode and Kazdanga.
Liepāja’s Lāčplēsis Garden Festival returns on Saturday, 15 August, beginning at 14:00 in Lāčplēsis Garden, Karosta. Now for its seventh time, the festival has become a much‑loved August tradition for residents and city guests.
From July 27 to August 8, 2026, the 22nd International Cast Iron Art Symposium will take place in Aizpute, as part of the “Liepāja – European Capital of Culture 2027” programme. For more than two decades, this event has brought together Latvian and international sculptors, art students, and metal art professionals for a shared creative experience.
