Pianist Andrejs Osokins
Conductor Valdis Butāns
RIGA Orchestra
Programme:
George Gershwin / ar. M. Horhe - Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in Famazor
Leonard Bernstein / ar. Leonard Bernstein - Leonard Bernstein - Leonard Bernstein - Leonard Bernstein - Leonard Bernstein
Arturo Marquez / ar. O. Nickell - Danzon No. 2
Traditional Christmas music performed by the RIGA Orchestra
About the concert:
Meeting at Christmas time, pianist Andrei Osokin and the RIGA Orchestra will take the audience on a musical journey to North America. It will begin with listening to a sophisticated dialogue between elements of classical and popular music in the American composer George Gershwin's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in Famajor (1925). At its premiere, Gershwin himself sat at the piano with the New York Symphony Orchestra. In the Christmas Concert in Riga, the refreshing melodiousness and energetic rhythms of the work will be brought to life by the master of the piano keys, Andrei Osokin, playing with the brass band.
The audience will enjoy a small but dazzling selection from another great American composer - Leonard Bernstein's musical theatre multi-movement work Mesa (1971). This opus, composed for the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts, is a religious opus about man's journey of doubt and his return to the world of faith. The Suite from the 'Mesa', arranged for brass band by Michael Sweeney, includes the movements Alleluia, Sanctus, Simple Song, Agnus Dei, Offertorium and Almighty Father.
The closer to the south, the hotter! Mexican Arturo Marquez's Danzon No.2 (1994) is known and loved by dancers all over the world. Danzon is a style of dance that has its roots in Cuba, but is also very common in Veracruz, Mexico. Oliver Nickell has created an outstanding arrangement for brass band, which we will hear in concert.
Christmas melodies from the USA bring joy to hearts in every corner of the world. A Little Drummer Boy by Catherine Davis and Harry Simone, Mary's Boy Child in calypso rhythms by spirichuella expert and composer Jester Hurston and A Most Wonderful Christmas by arranger Robert Sheldon are the most beautiful harbingers of the festive season at the concert on 22 December at VEF Culture Palace!
DEAR CONCERT VISITORS!
Upon arrival at the event, please present your Covid-19 certificate, which proves that the visitor (including the child) has completed the full course of vaccination against Covid-19 or has contracted Covid-19 within the last 6 months. The certificate can be downloaded at www.Covid19sertifikats.lv.
An identity document (passport or ID card), a personalised ticket and a valid certificate are required to attend the event.
Please arrive early - at least half an hour before the concert!
Face and nose cover must be worn during the event.
