Glasperlenspiel 2017

Klaaspärlimäng 2014
August 5, 2013
Festival Orient 2017
July 4, 2014

GLASPERLENSPIEL MUSIC FESTIVAL 2017
GlasperlenspielLogoNew

A joint project of ERP and the city of Tartu. The festival Glasperlenspiel (‘The Glass Bead Game’) directed by Peeter Vähi has got its inspiration from the novel by Hermann Hesse. It is certainly a very special musical event in Estonian summer where music lovers can enjoy performers like Australian Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Süd-West Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra, Tōkyō Philharmonic Chorus, Quintet of Berliner Philharmoniker, Gidon Kremer, Vadim Repin, Piotr Anderszewski, Olli Mustonen, Kristjan Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Christoph Eschenbach, etc, as well as the leading musicians of Estonia.

 

Many concerts are broadcasted live on ERP Live. Listen from your browser or download the app to your mobile device. Get information about upcoming broadcasts by pressing “like” on ERP Live’s Facebook page.

 

Glasperlenspiel presents

AgeJuurikas420Thu, Oct 19th, 2017 at 7 pm Tubin Hall (address Lossi Street 15, Tartu)
AGE JUURIKAS, piano
Live recording of CD The Soul of Fire
Programme: Albéniz, de Falla, Stravinski-Agosti
Tickets available at Piletilevi

Pianist Age Juurikas began taking piano lessons in the Tallinn Music High School at the age of 4. Since then she has also studied in the Estonian Academy of Music, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, the University of Music in Karlsruhe and in the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Since 2007 she has been teaching at the piano department of Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.
Age Juurikas has been awarded numerous prizes at national as well as international competitions, such as the 1st prize at the Vainunas Competition in Vilnius and the Grand Prix at Eesti Kontsert, the Estonian State Concert Institute, the 4th prize at the Artur Rubinstein Competition for Young Pianists in Bydgoszcz in 2000 and the 1st prize in the National Competition for Pianists in Tallinn in 2002. In 1998, the Estonian State Concert Institution awarded her the title Young Musician of the Year. In 2003 she was awarded the first Neeme Järvi Prize for her successful presentation of Estonian music. In 2005, Age received the semi-finalist prize at the International Rachmaninoff Contest in Los Angeles.
She has recorded several programs from the piano repertory with Estonian Public Broadcasting Company. Age Juurikas has gives recitals regularly and has performed as a chamber musician and a soloist with symphony orchestras in the Baltics and the Nordic Countries as well as in Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Spain, France, and in the United States. Juurikas is also known as chamber musician and she has shared the stage with several musicians from Estonia and abroad.
Her favourite repertoire consists of music composed in the first half of the 20th century, especially the works by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Isaac Albéniz, but she is also interested in contemporary music performance. Juurikas has participated in various large-scale contemporary music projects such as Karl-Heinz Stockhausen’s Mantra and Gerard Grisey’s Vortex Temporum to name a few. Her special interest is to play less common repertory of great composers and therefore she tries to incorporate some fresh and lesser-known works into her programs.
Age Juurikas is currently doing her PhD at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.

Sun, Apr 9th at 5 pm in Kaarli kirik (Charles’ Church), address Toompuiestee 4, Tallinn

Palm Sunday Concert
Johann Sebastian Bach − ST JOHN PASSION, BWV 245

Bach composed his St John passion during his second year in Leipzig, in 1724. As the freshly appointed cantor of the St Thomas church and therefore also the music director for the four churches of Leipzig, Bach probably felt the need to prove himself in this new situation. After all, he was far from first choice for the position − one official of the city council even remarked that, in lieu of the best man, they would have to make do with a mediocrity. With the St John passion, Bach was surely able to surpass these doubts, as the piece was the most extensive he had written so far.
It is known from his obituary that Bach wrote five settings of the passion story, but the only surviving ones today are the St John’s and St Matthew’s. Perhaps this is the reason why these two masterpieces are constantly compared to each other. Robert Schumann, who conducted the St John passion in 1851, considered it “more daring, forceful and poetic” than the St Matthew passion. The St John passion is also often described as more realistic, faster paced and more anguished. Bach never composed an opera, but this is about as close as he came.
St John passion is written for an intimate ensemble of soloists, four-part choir, strings and basso continuo and pairs of flauti traversi and oboes. For additional colours, Bach also used lute, viola d’amore and viola da gamba. The author of the libretto is unknown, although it is likely that it was Bach himself. The core of the libretto is made up by chapters 18 and 19 of the Gospel of John, with some additional paragraphs from the Gospel of Matthew and settings of poems by Barthold Heinrich Brockes, Christian Weise and Christian Heinrich Postel. The St John passion was first performed on Good Friday, April 7 in 1724 at the St Nicholas church in Leipzig.
Bach repeatedly returned to the piece, revising it three times: in 1725, 1732 and 1749. This clearly shows how much value Bach placed on the work. Nowadays, the original work of 1724 is the most often performed version.

 JohannesPassion AndresMustonen VPetrikas

Anto Õnnis (Evangelist, tenor), Jaanika Kuusik (soprano), Evelin Ester (mezzo-soprano), Tõnis Kaumann (baritone), Alvar Tiisler (baso), Piret Aidulo (organ), Tallinn Boys Choir (chorus master Lydia Rahula), Klaipėda Chamber Orchestra, conductor Andres Mustonen

Duration 1 h 55 min. Watch player 20 sec video-clip on YouTube.


Programme in July

Thu, July 6th at 7 pm
Gordana Josifova Nedelkovska, Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta, Andres Mustonen

Fri, July 7th at 7 pm
THE BRIDE UNFASTENS HER BRAIDS, THE GROOM FAINTS
Etty Ben-Zaken, Hortus Musicus

Fri, July 7th at 10 pm
VISIONS OF HILDEGARD VON BINGEN
Ensemble Mandel

Sat, July 8th at 7 pm
BACH & PÄRT I
Katō Kuniko

Sat, July 8th at 10 pm
GOLDEN AGE OF VIOLA DA GAMBA
Petr Wagner

Sun, July 9th at 7 pm
THE PATH
Ekaterina Levental

Sun, July 9th at 7 pm Viljandi St John’s Church (in co-operation with Viljandi Early Music Festival)
Etty Ben-Zaken, Hortus Musicus

Sun, July 9th at 10 pm
THE JOURNEY OF LIGHT
Karl Nieler

Mon, July 10th at 7 pm
AFFETTI AMOROSI
Ensemble Floridante & Ivo Posti

Mon, July 10th at 10 pm
HIROSHIMA − NAGASAKI
Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta

Tue, July 11th at 7 pm
BACH & PÄRT II
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Kaspars Putniņš

Thu, July 13th at 6 pm Viljandi St John’s Church (in co-operation with Viljandi Early Music Festival)
AFETTI AMOROSO
Ensemble Floridante & Ivo Posti

Fri, July 14th at 8 pm St Nicholas’ Church, Tallinn (in co-operation with Niguliste Museum)
BACH & PÄRT
Katō Kuniko


 

Detailed programme

Thu, July 6th at 7 pm St John’s church (Jaani Str 5, Tartu)
Gordana Josifova Nedelkovska (oboe / Macedonia), Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta, conductor Andres Mustonen
Programme: Bach, Bach / Kaumann, Haydn, Steinberg

Gordana Josifova Nedelkovska graduated at the Faculty of music − Skopje in the class of Prof Kiro Davidovski. She specialized on the “Mozart” academy in Warsaw and had a full scholarship when studing at Banff centre for music and sound in Canada. She has won many awards at the domestic and international competitions. Currently she is a professor at the Faculty of music − Skopje teaching oboe, chamber music and methodology of teaching wind instruments.
As a soloist she has performed with many well-known chamber and symphony orchestras and performed recitals Canada, the USA, Brazil, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia, the Ukraine, Finland, Turkey, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia.

GordanaNedelkovska450 GlasperlenspielSinfoniettaKristjanJarviTMWGlasperlenspiel Sinfonietta’s unique artistic style encompasses not only the masterworks of the classical repertoire, but innovative cross-art form projects and a vigorous commissioning program. The orchestra’s repertoire spanning over centuries, entwines old music with new, from Bach to Piazzolla, from Pärt to Vähi.
Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta introduces to the listeners the music from the past as a live, breathing, joyful organism and proves that every type of music could bring freshness to the mind, warm the soul and give energy. It is only up to thinking and attitude. The resulting sense of energy and individuality is one of the most commented-upon elements of Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta concert experience.
During the last years Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta performed in Switzerland and Austria, in Italy and Finland, in Germany and Belgium, in Brazil and Chile, in Argentina and Uruguay and also took part at international music festivals like Ars Musica in Brussels, Festival Pianistico Internazionale di Brescia e Bergamo, Mittelfest and Emilia Romagna in Italy, Oleg Kagan International Music Festival in Kreuth am Tegernsee in Germany, Saint Petersburg Easter Festival in Russia, Iitti Music Festival in Finland, Riga Music Festival Artissimo in Latvia.
Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta has played on many prestigious stages in Europe, Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Grand Hall of Saint Petersburg Philharmonia in Russia, Cologne Philharmonic Hall among them, getting high acclaim for each concert.

Fri, July 7th at 7 pm St John’s church (Jaani Str 5, Tartu)
Sun, July 9th at 7 pm Viljandi St John’s Church (in co-operation with Viljandi Early Music Festival)
THE BRIDE UNFASTENS HER BRAIDS, THE GROOM FAINTS
Etty Ben-Zaken (vocal, Israel), Ensemble Hortus Musicus, artistic director Andres Mustonen

EttyBenZaken HortusMusicus300

Etty Ben Zaken wins audiences’ and critics’ acclaim for performing contemporary works, many of which are written especially for her voice. Well versed in today’s extended vocal techniques, she feels equally at home performing ethnic music from her own Sephardic heritage and from other communities, in 20 different languages. Her singing has been recorded on CDs, radio, television and documentaries. Alongside her singing activity, Ben Zaken is a prolific creative artist: she is the author of two published novels, and the writer, director and designer of bilingual (Hebrew and Arabic) Music-Theater shows, some of them created in collaboration with her husband, composer Eitan Steinberg. Her original vocal works accompany video-art works and artists’ exhibitions, and her own visual art includes large-scale fabric works, that were exhibited in Israel and Germany. Her education includes voice studies at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy, theater studies at the Jerusalem School of Visual Theater, a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree (both with distinction) in literature from the University of Haifa. During 2004-2015 she taught at the Theater Department of the University of Haifa, Israel.

Fri, July 7th at 10 pm St John’s church (Jaani Str 5, Tartu)
VISIONS OF HILDEGARD VON BINGEN
Ensemble Mandel (Austria, Hungary), artistic director Robert Mandel

EnsembleMandelFoto

The Ensemble Mandel founded in 2014, aims to introduce diverse periods of music history and musical instruments and compare them. It also aims to create a new, contemporary music. Organologist and early music artist Robert Mandel is committed to writing new music, organising contests for composers, and publishing books and audio discs. The Ensemble varies from four to ten members. They combine analogue modular synthesizers with unique and rarely heard medieval instruments, such as the clavisimbalum, organistrum, viéle, and the fidel. It performs original works, as well as works specifically composed for the ensemble that mix contemporary music with old and new musical elements that enhance each other to create a new musical “sound direction”.

Sat, July 8th at 7 pm St John’s church (Jaani Str 5, Tartu)
Fri, July 14th at 8 pm St Nicolaus church (Niguliste Str 3, Tallinn)
BACH & PÄRT I
Kato Kuniko (percussion / Japan)
Listen to the live recording

Katō Kuniko

  • one of the most gifted and significant percussionists of her generation
  • studied under the legendary marimba player Keiko Abe at Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tōkyō, and advanced her studies under Robert van Sice at Rotterdam Conservatory
  • graduated with summa cum laude as the first percussionist in the institution’s history
  • after graduation was based in Europe for over 10 years, currently resides in USA
  • 1996 has won the Kranichsteiner Musikpreis from the Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt and 2nd prize at the International Leigh Howard Stevens Marimba competition in the USA
  • 2005 one of her career highlights was the Japanese première of the music theatre production of The Pure Land (Jōdo) by James Wood
  • 2009 gave the world-première of Electric Counterpoint by Steve Reich, transcribed for steel pans, marimbaphone and vibraphone
  • 2011 released critically acclaimed CD kuniko plays reich (Linn Records) which came the best-selling album of the year
  • a member of various orchestras and chamber groups such as the Saitō Kinen Orchestra (Japan), ensembles Ictus (Belgium) and Nomad (Japan)
  • 2013 − the highly acclaimed Keizō Saji Award from Suntory Arts Foundation

KatoKuniko2016

Download: photo of Katō Kuniko, colour, JPG, 300 dpi, 1.4 MB

Arvo Pärt was born on Sep 11th, 1935. He graduated from the Estonian AcadArvoPart2006PhotoByVahiemy of Music in 1963. Official judgement of Pärt’s music veered between extremes, with certain works being praised and others, like the Credo of 1968, being banned. This would prove to be the last of his collage pieces and after its composition, Pärt chose to enter the first of several periods of contemplative silence, also using the time to study French and Franco-Flemish choral music from the 14th to 16th centuries: Machaut, Ockeghem, Obrecht, Josquin. At the beginning of the 70s, he wrote a few transitional compositions in the spirit of early European polyphony, like his Symphony No 3. Pärt turned again to self-imposed silence, but re-emerged in 1976 after a transformation so radical as to make his previous music almost unrecognizable as that of the same composer. The technique he invented, or discovered, and to which he has remained loyal, practically without exception, he calls tintinnabuli (‘little bells’), which he describes thus: “I have discovered that it is enough when a single note is beautifully played. This one note, or a silent beat, or a moment of silence, comforts me. I work with very few elements − with one voice, two voices. I build with primitive materials − with the triad, with one specific tonality. The three notes of a triad are like bells and that is why I call it tintinnabulation.” The basic guiding principle behind tintinnabulation of composing two simultaneous voices as one line − one voice moving stepwise from and to a central pitch, first up then down, and the other sounding the notes of the triad − made its first public appearance in the short piano piece Für Alina.
Having found his voice, there was a subsequent rush of new works and three of the 1977 pieces − Fratres, Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten, and Tabula Rasa − are still amongst his most highly regarded. As Pärt’s music began to be performed in the west and he continued to struggle against Soviet officialdom, his frustration ultimately forced him, his wife Nora and their two sons, to emigrate in 1980. They never made it to their intended destination of Israel but, with the assistance of his publisher in the West, settled firstly in Vienna. One year later he moved to Berlin.
Pärt has concentrated on setting religious texts, which have proved popular with choirs and ensembles around the world. Among his champions in the West have been ECM Records who released the first recordings of Pärt’s music outside the Soviet bloc, Hilliard Ensemble who have premiered several of the vocal works, and Neeme Järvi who conducted the première of Credo in Tallinn in 1968, and has, as well as recording the tintinnabuli pieces, introduced Pärt’s earlier compositions through performances and recordings.
See also Arvo Pärt’s CDs (Pilgrim’s Song, Vater unser) released by Estonian Record Productions.

 

Sat, July 8th at 10 pm St John’s church (Jaani Str 5, Tartu)
GOLDEN AGE OF VIOLA DA GAMBA
Petr Wagner (viola da gamba, Czech Republic)
Programme: Hume, Marais, Dollé, Telemann, Finger, Forqueray, Abel
Listen to the live recording

PetrWagnerGambaFor over two decades, Petr Wagner, a viola da gamba virtuoso, has been the mainstay on European and world stages. Whether it is during a solo performance with chamber music accompaniment or in the role of the artistic director and conductor of the Ensemble Tourbillon, he always manages to captivate his colleagues to give a supreme performance.
Born in Prague, Petr Wagner studied cello at the Prague Conservatoire with Josef Chuchro. This was followed by studies in musicology at the Charles’ University in Prague and at the Royal Holloway University of London. There he was introduced to viola da gamba by Richard Boothby, later continuing with Jaap ter Linden at the Akademie für alte Musik Dresden. After having completed his studies in Dresden, Petr was invited to study with Wieland Kuijken at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague where he received the Uitvoerend Musicus solo diploma.
As soloist, chamber and continuo player, Petr has appeared at numerous European festivals, as well as in other parts of the world − Israel, Japan, Mexico.
In 1998 Petr Wagner founded the Ensemble Tourbillon with internationally acclaimed musicians. Its core activities focus on 17th and 18th century repertoire, with music by Couperin, Bach, Marais, Rebel, Purcell, Finger, Fischer and Handel.
Petr regularly records and broadcasts for BBC, Polish Radio, Czech Radio and Czech TV. He has appeared on nearly 50 CDs − either as a soloist, chamber musician and conductor.

Download: Photo of Petr Wagner, jpg, CMYK, 2.1 MB
Download: Petr Wagner. Gottfried Finger, Sonata secunda in D major, fragm, 2 min 30 sec, AAC Audio

Sun, July 9th at 7 pm St John’s church (Jaani Str 5, Tartu)
THE PATH
Ekaterina Levental (harp, mezzosoprano, storytelling / The Netherlands)

ThePathEkaterinaLeventalIn this extraordinary and moving production, harpist and singer Ekaterina Levental takes the audience with her along The Path, which she followed as a teenager. Her path began in Tashkent and led from one country to the next, as her family fled Uzbekistan, following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
With the support of director Chris Koolmees, Ekaterina sings and recounts all the highs and lows of her experience; she tells about the loss of friendship, about estrangement, but also about resilience and hope for the future.
The Path shows the inextinguishable endurance of a child in dramatic circumstances. We get to know a teenager who is steadfastly determined to find her way, hanging onto her imagination. Ekaterina’s story is poignant and personal, on a theme that is all too familiar these days. She illustrates it with beautiful music.

Ekaterina Levental was born in Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan, one of the republics of the former Soviet Union. Ekaterina moved to Holland in 1993 where she continued her studies on the harp at the Conservatories in Enschede, Rotterdam and Detmold (Germany) with teachers Alex Bonnet, Godelieve Schrama and Catherine Michel.
Due to a scholarship granted her by the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and the Fonds voor Podium- en Amateurkunsten she continued her studies with Germaine Lorenzini in Lyon, France. After graduating her harp studies she decided to follow her passion for singing and started studying classical singing at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Ekaterina finished both studies Cum Laude. She has studied singing with Rita Dams, Meinard Kraak, Barbara Pearson and Diane Forlano and has been a part of workshops and master classes with Nelly Miricioiu, Jean Piland, Charlotte Margiono, Christoph Prégardien, Jard van Nes, Jean Philippe Lafont and Leontina Vaduva.
Today, Ekaterina has established herself as an opera singer and a theater performer. She has worked as a soloist with companies as De Nationale Opera, Jan Fabre/Troubleyn (Belgium), LOD Gent (Belgium), Toneelhuis Antwerpen (Belgium), Muziektheater Hollands Diep Dordrecht, Opera Trionfo, Veenfabriek Leiden, Opera Spanga, Opera Nijetrijne, Holland Opera, Silbersee and others.
As a soloist, Ekaterina has performed at renowned halls, theaters and venues in the Netherlands and abroad with the works of Bach, Pergolesi, Mozart, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Rossini, Poulenc and Duruflé.
In  january of 2015 Ekaterina made her debut at the Dutch National Opera with the role of Melibea in Il Viaggio a Reims by Gioacchino Rossini. Her recent engagements include a solo tour with the Ricciotti Ensemble in Belgium and the Netherlands, Pornopera (Wilco/NieuwWest) at the Operadagen Rotterdam 2015, Folksongs by Luciano Berio with Ensemble Omnibus (Uzbekistan) and Pierrot Lunaire by Arnold Schönberg in Tokyo with ensemble Nomad (Japan).

KarlNieler500Sun, July 9th at 10 pm St John’s church (Jaani Str 5, Tartu)
THE JOURNEY OF LIGHT
Karl Nieler (singing bowls, gongs, bells, bassoon, historical double bassoon / Germany)
Improvisations on the following themes: The Journey of Light, Whispers of the Stars, Ancient Forest, Conversations of Trees, The Sound of a Flower, In the Heart of the Mountains, In the Centre of the Galaxy
Listen to the live recording

Karl Nieler is a musician who was born in Estonia into a family of artists. Since 2001, he lives and works in Munich, Germany. He has studied bassoon in the Lyon Conservatoire National Supérieur and did his Master’s degree in the University of Music of Karlsruhe. Nieler specializes in playing historical and modern bassoons and double bassoon. As a chamber musician and a member of several orchestras he has participated in numerous concerts, recordings and television productions with acclaimed orchestras, such as Opera de Lyon, Concerto Köln, Berliner Symphoniker, Orchestre de Chambre de Geneve, Capriccio Basel, Freiburger Barockorchester, Wiener Akademie and Australian Chamber Orchestra. He has performed in well-known concert halls, including Théâtre de Champs-Élysées, Wiener Musikverein, Salzburger Festspielhaus, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berliner Philharmonie, Palau de la Música Catalana and Sydney Opera House.
In 2011, Karl Nieler became increasingly interested in Tibetan singing bowls. Making music with these bowls and meditating offered him deep relaxation. Gradually, adding one sound to another while influenced by classical music, a constellation of sounds called Primordial Sound Space was born. Multiple concerts followed with 36 singing bowls, eight tingsha cymbals, six Tibetan monastery bells and three Wuhan Feng gongs. In 2014 Nieler released an album Sound Of The Flower.

player Karl Nieler. Sound of Flowers, fragm, 3 min 59 sec, mp3, 320 Kbps
player Karl Nieler. Ramforest, Conversing Trees, fragm, 4 min 27 sec, mp3, 320 Kbps
Watch Karl Nieler performing Whispering Stars with singing bowls player

 

Mon, July 10th at 7 pm St John’s church (Jaani Str 5, Tartu)
Thu, July 13th at 6 pm Viljandi St John’s Church (in co-operation with Viljandi Early Music Festival)
Ensemble Floridante & Ivo Posti (countertenor)

AFFETTI AMOROSI
Songs and tunes from the 16th and 17th century about love

Dario Castello (~1590−~1658). Sonata prima á Sopran solo
Claudio Monteverdi (1567−1643). Scene E’pur io torno from the opera L’incoronazione Poppea
Johann Jakob Froberger (1616−1667). Capriccio in G, FbWV507
Francesco Rognoni (2nd half of the 16th century − after 1626). Diminutions on Palestrina’s Vestiva i colli
Bellerofonte Castaldi (1580−1649). Cromatica corrente; Tasteggio soave
Orazio Michi (1594−1641). Ninna nanna al bambino Gesù
Juan de Anchieta (1462−1523). Con amores la mi madre
Giovanni Stefani (?−1626). Amante felice
Francesco Rognoni. Diminutions on Palestrina′s Io son ferito
Benedetto Ferrari (~1603−1681). Queste pungenti spine
Johann Jakob Froberger. Toccata Prima in G FbWV107
Antonio Bertali (1605−1669). Chiacona
Diego Ortiz (~1510−~1570). Recercada Ottava; Recercada Segunda
Claudio Monteverdi. Si dolce e il tormenti
Bartolomeo Tromboncino (~1470−~1535). Ostinato vo’ seguire
Claudio Monteverdi. Quel sguardo sdegnosetto

floridanteHow oft, when thou, my music, music play′st,
Upon that blessed wood whose motion sounds
With thy sweet fingers, when thou gently sway’st
The wiry concord that mine ear confounds,
Do I envy those jacks that nimble leap
To kiss the tender inward of thy hand,
Whilst my poor lips, which should that harvest reap,
At the wood’s boldness by thee blushing stand!
To be so tickled, they would change their state
And situation with those dancing chips,
O’er whom thy fingers walk with gentle gait,
Making dead wood more belst than living lips.
Since saucy jacks so happy are in this,
Give them thy fingers, me thy lips to kiss.
(W. Shakespeare)

Surely, at least once in a lifetime, in one of its facets − everyone has felt the great feeling of Love. No wonder that romance has been a profound source of inspiration for artists throughout all times. Equally well, the darker shades of love have found their ways of expression though poetry and music. All those unanswered feelings, unsatisfied passions and infidelity that have shredded hearts, put in fine style and beautiful form, in order to please the minds of educated connoiseurs…
William Shakespeare, who’s 400th death anniversary the world was celebrating last year, is not merely a contemporary of all those Italian composers of this concert’s program. In his sonets, the English poet seems, in a way, to even speak the same laguage as do Claudio Monteverdi, or his fellow countrymen speak in their songs. So unveiled and sensual is the manner in which Shakespeare expresses his tender feelings towards an anonymous virginal player. The Italians bring the passions even to a next level − if you don’t give me thy lips to kiss, I pledge for death and madness!
Even if the Italian language is not your field of expertise, passionate Estonian counter tenor Ivo Posti will not leave anyone cold – prepare to laugh, prepare to weap!

Listen to the live recording

Mon, July 10th at 10 pm St John’s church (Jaani Str 5, Tartu)
HIROSHIMA — NAGASAKI
Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta, voice effects Iris Oja and Tarmo Johannes, conductor Andrus Kallastu, artistic producer Ülo Vihma, visual desing by Hille Karm and Külli Mariste
Maltis, Hirsch, Kozlova-Johannes, Tulve, Tulev, Birman (all premières)
Listen to the live recording

AtomBomb

Hiroshima — Nagasaki is a symphonic piece composed for the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
The work was created by six composers – professors of composition in the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Toivo Tulev and Helena Tulve, and their students, already known composers Liisa Hirsch, Eugene Birman, Tatjana Kozlova-Johannes and Malle Maltis. The musical director of the piece is composer and conductor Andrus Kallastu. The work is unique — never before have so many composers created together a symphonic piece.
In order to create the dramatic line of the work, Estonian poet Doris Kareva wrote haikus for each scene that the composers could use for the music. At the concert, these haikus will be heard from a tape, as read by Britta Soll and Raimo Pass. The performance will be further illustrated by a video representing the scenic idea of the piece, made by Hille Karm
The piece is based on two intertwining storylines — life, love, creation and war, death, destruction. The main narrative is the love story of a young woman and a man, where one can imagine everything that can happen within this narrative — meeting, falling in love, creating new life, keeping track of the child growing in the mothers belly and all the everyday joys and troubles until the birth of the child. This life full of love and creativity could be unexpectedly interrupted by violence, as is evident from the wars that have happened in history. So, the explosion of the atomic bomb and the birth of the child take place simultaneously in the finale of the work.
The music of Hiroshima – Nagasaki was composed with the intention of being the musical basis of a dance performance. Despite the tragic incentive and a cautionary message, the finale of the piece expresses the victory of life and love. The possibility of a positive outcome remains – like the young adults who, thanks to love, conquer difficulties in everyday life, small arguments, illnesses, fear for their child and their future, so can humanity overcome great oppositions and challenges of nature, where a remarkable part is controlling the huge amount of energy created by ourselves. The work calls to end conflicts before they grow into nuclear catastrophes. Remembering the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with this piece is therefore a warning to us all — they can never happen again.

Ülo Vihma
Author of the idea and producer

Tue, July 11th at 7 pm St John’s church (Jaani Str 5, Tartu)
BACH & PÄRT II
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, conductor Kaspars Putniņš (Latvia)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685−1750). Komm, Jesu, komm, BWV 229
Arvo Pärt (1935). Summa; Magnificat; The Woman With Alabaster Box
Johann Sebastian Bach. Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227
Arvo Pärt. Zwei Beter; Nunc dimittis
Johann Sebastian Bach. Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn, BWV Anh 159

TPhilharmonicChamberChoir300he Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC) is one of the best-known Estonian music ensembles in the world. It was founded in 1981 by Tõnu Kaljuste, who was the artistic director and chief conductor for twenty years.
The repertoire of the choir extends from Gregorian chant and baroque to the music of the 21st century, with a special focus on the work of Estonian composers, such as Arvo Pärt, Veljo Tormis, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Galina Grigoryeva, Toivo Tulev, Tõnu Kõrvits, Helena Tulve, and introducing their output to the world. Each season the choir gives about 60–70 concerts both in Estonia and abroad.
The EPCC has cooperated with a number of outstanding conductors including Claudio Abbado, Helmuth Rilling, Eric Ericson, Ward Swingle, Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi,  Gustavo Dudamel etc.
In addition to The EPCC has also worked with the following world-class orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Berlin Rundfunk Orchestra, Concerto Copenhagen, the Salzburg Camerata, Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble, the Philip Glass Ensemble, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Basel Chamber Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra.
The EPCC has been a welcome guest at numerous music festivals including the BBC Proms, the Mozartwoche, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the Moscow Easter Festival, the Salzburg Festspiele, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Festival Aix-en-Provence. The choir has performed in outstanding venues all over the world, such as the Sydney Opera House, Wiener Konzerthaus, the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Versailles Opéra Royal, the Kennedy Centre in Washington, the Lincoln Centre and Carnegie Hall in New York, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles etc.
Another important aspect in the choir’s life is recording music, resulting in various award-winning CDs. The EPCC recordings have twice won a Grammy-Award for Best Choral Performance: in 2007 for the album of Arvo Pärt’s Da Pacem (Harmonia Mundi) with conductor Paul Hillier and Arvo Pärt’s Adam’s Lament (ECM) with conductor Tõnu Kaljuste. All in all, the choir has 14 Grammy nominations with works by Arvo Pärt, Erkki-Sven Tüür and the music from the Nordic countries. The EPCC recordings have also won the award Diapason d’or, Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Danish Music Award, de Choc de l’Année Classica 2014, and more.

KasparsPutnins350Kaspars Putniņš started as an artistic director and chief conductor of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir in September 2014. He has been the conductor of the Latvian Radio Choir since 1992. In 1994, he formed the Latvian Radio Chamber Singers, an ensemble of soloists formed from the members of Latvian Radio Choir. He regularly appears as a guest conductor with leading European choirs such as the BBC Singers, RIAS Kammerchor, Berliner Rundfunkchor, NDR Kammerchor, Netherlands Radio Choir, Collegium Vocale Gent, Flamish Radio Choir and others.
Whilst Kaspars Putniņš work encompasses a wide range of choral repertoire from Renaissance polyphony to works of the Romantic period, his foremost goal has always been that of promoting new outstanding choral music. This new repertoire challenges and develops the abilities of his performers and takes their vocal sound to entirely uncharted territories.
Kaspars Putniņš has also initiated several theatrical projects, which involve the participation of his choir, in collaboration with visual and theatre artists. He often lectures and gives master classes internationally.
Kaspars Putniņš is the recipient of the Latvian Music Grand Prix and the Latvian Council of Ministers Award for Achievements in Culture and Science.


GlasperlenspielCatTaavetOrganizers:
Peeter Vähi − artistic director
Taavet − artistic advisor
Tiina Jokinen − executive director
Kadri Kiis − producer, accountant
Taimi Paves − manager
Lukas Groen − management of Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta
Kaisa Luik − liner notes, booklet, website
Olavi Sööt − logistics
Daniel Nash − sound engineering
Johannes Vähi − webcast / live streaming, logistics
Reno Hekkonens − PR, marketing

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Special thanks: Tartu City Government, Toyota Baltic AS, Urmas Klaas, Juhani Jaeger, Lauri Kasemets, Peeter Saan, Rita Hade, Kaupo Kiis, Kristel Leppik, volunteers

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See also: Glasperlenspiel-festivals; Glasperlenspiel 2015Glasperlenspiel 2014, Glasperlenspiel 2013, Glasperlenspiel 2012, Glasperlenspiel 2011, Glasperlenspiel 2010, Glasperlenspiel 2009, Glasperlenspiel 2008, Glasperlenspiel 2007, Glasperlenspiel2006, Glasperlenspiel 2005, Archives: Glasperlenspiel2003 and 2004

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