On December 18 at 19:00, a unique and sophisticated concert will take place at the Ola Foundation cultural venue, where for the first time two brilliant, internationally acclaimed stars will meet on one stage as a duo - the outstanding Latvian pianist Daumants Liepiņš and cellist Margarita Balanas.
Daumants Liepiņš has gained international recognition for his deeply expressive and technically flawless performances, and after winning prestigious competitions, including the Vendome Prize at the Verbier Festival and the Maria Canals Competition in Barcelona, he is regarded as one of the finest pianists of his generation.
Margarita Balanas, known for her virtuosity and refined style, has won the love of audiences and high praise worldwide as one of today's most distinguished cellists.
Their musical chemistry on stage promises to be as magical as the works themselves. The programme will feature masterpieces by Ludwig van Beethoven and Claude Debussy, concluding with César Franck's unforgettable sonata. Beethoven's monumental power, Debussy's impressionistic moods and Franck's passionate Romanticism will merge into a harmonious whole this evening, creating an unforgettable emotional and aesthetic experience.
This duo is not only a meeting of two outstanding talents, but also an unforgettable cultural event that promises to delight both connoisseurs of refined music and anyone wishing to experience the power of music.
Tickets are available in limited numbers - do not miss the opportunity to be part of this exceptional evening!
The concert consists of 2 parts with a 30-minute interval. Guests are warmly invited to arrive from 18:15 to enjoy a glass of welcome wine and view the current exhibitions at the cultural venue.
BIO
Pianist Daumants Liepiņš is one of the brightest musicians of his generation. The prestigious industry magazine Pianist has named him one of four pianists who must be heard. He gained international recognition by winning the Maria Canals International Piano Competition (2019) and the Nordic Piano Competition, placing 2nd at the George Enescu International Piano Competition, receiving the Georges Leibenson Prize at the Geneva International Piano Competition (2018) and the Verbier Festival's Vendome Prize (2019), as well as becoming a finalist at the prestigious Géza Anda Competition in Switzerland. Daumants Liepiņš received Latvia's Great Music Award in the category “Young Artist of the Year 2017”.
The passion and intensity of Daumants' interpretations not only captivate but also convince - his ideas and vision of a work are always clear and sincere. The emotions and dynamic gradations in his playing can reach extremes, yet within the multilayered terrain of the form, intimate lyrical digressions and reminiscences are always a delight. It seems that the pianist considers it important not merely to master the text, but to dig down to its deepest essence, reveal its overarching purpose and message.
As a soloist, Daumants has performed not only with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra and the chamber orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga, but also with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, the Flemish Symphony Orchestra, the Romanian National Symphony Orchestra, the Georgian National Symphony Orchestra, the Kaunas Symphony Orchestra and the major symphony orchestras of Spain.
Daumants' debut album "Rachmaninoff. Zemzaris" received high praise from The Guardian, BBC and other media outlets, and a new "Naxos" album featuring interpretations of Soler sonatas has recently been recorded.
Daumants continues to offer audiences new concert programmes in concert halls both in Latvia and abroad.
Cellist Margarita BALANAS is one of the brightest young cellists of her generation. Margarita is a laureate of several international competitions and a scholarship recipient - she has been awarded the prestigious ABRSM Scholarship, the Martin Music Scholarship Fund scholarship and the Royal Academy of Music Bicentenary Scholarship to record her debut album for Linn Records in 2021. She received a nomination for the Great Music Award in the category “Young Musician of the Year 2018”.
Margarita has performed in the world's most prestigious concert halls - Carnegie Hall, Berliner Philharmonie, Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Walt Disney Hall and others, performing with renowned orchestras such as the Munich Philharmonic, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonietta Rīga, the Saarbrücken Symphony Orchestra and Deutsche Philharmonie Merck, and has also participated in acclaimed festivals such as the Dresdner Musikfestspiele and the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival. Margarita is a featured guest artist on Classic FM, Scala Radio, and BBC Radio 3 In Tune.
Her debut album featuring Saint-Saëns' “Cello Concerto No. 1” has been included in prestigious Apple Music playlists, such as Classical You Must Hear This Month and Women in Classical Music. She toured the United States and Europe with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, and together they released an album with Deutsche Grammophon.
Currently, in the 23/24 season, Margarita is assistant conductor to Paavo Järvi and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and has been invited to extend her position for the 24/25 season. She is the conductor and founder of the ANONIMI orchestra and charitable organisation. She has conducted the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orquestra do Algarve, Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra and Baltic Sea Philharmonic.
Highlights of this season include performances of Schumann's concerto with Deutsche Philharmonie Merck and conductor Ben Palmer. She began the 24/25 season conducting the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and working closely with Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir.
Margarita plays an 1849 Charles-Adolphe Gand Auguste Tolbecque cello. Camille Saint-Saëns wrote and dedicated his first cello concerto to Auguste Tolbecque, who premiered it on this instrument in 1873.
Margarita Balanas continues to develop and enrich the world of classical music and is regarded as “the newest voice in the conversation about what classical music could look like in the future” (The Arts Desk).
