The Latvian Music Information Centre’s latest CD releases

The Latvian Music information centre is proud to present its latest publications, two double CDs: “Latvian String Quartets” (LMIC 015) and “Music for Winds by Latvian Composers” (LMIC 016).

The “Latvian String Quartets” double album’s first CD includes J?zeps V?tols’ String Quartet in G major, op. 27 (1899), which marks the beginning of the Latvian string quartet genre; Emilis Melngailis folkloric and somewhat naive Quasi uno quartetto (1946), almost improper within the standards and frameworks of the genre, and J?nis Ivanovs's 1st String Quartet (1932). The second CD in this compilation reflects the changes in the string quartet genre in Latvia in the second half of the 20th century, and includes compositions by Romualds Kalsons, Imants Zemzaris, Pauls Dambis, Maija Einfelde, Santa Ratniece, and M?rti?š Vi?ums.

Regarding the album of woodwind music, the original plan was to release a collection of works composed during the prime period of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra’s Wind Quintet—music by Art?rs Gr?nups, P?teris Plakidis, P?teris Vasks, and Imants Zemzaris, created in the 1970s and 1980s. However, it became clear that simply reminiscing would not be enough; the circle had to be made wider. Thus, it was decided that two generations would meet on this double album: composers and performers debuting in the 1970s and the 1990s—teachers, students, colleagues, perhaps even rivals. Of course, notions of novelty in the 20th century change quickly, and thus, it is only natural that, on the second disc of this double album, we hear the young composers of the 1990s ascribing to very different aesthetic values than their predecessors, particularly in their revival of the radical musical polemics of the 1950s avant-garde. This is reflected in compositions by Rolands Kronlaks, Rihards Dubra, ?riks Ešenvalds, Santa Ratniece and Marina Gribin?ika.