KRISTĪNE BALANAS. J.S. BACH. STRADIVARIUS VIOLIN.
On May 24 and 25, the Ola Foundation cultural venue will welcome the outstanding violinist Kristīne Balanas for a special and unforgettable concert. Her mastery, artistic talent, and sensuality have earned widespread acclaim, placing her among the world's leading violinists of her generation.
Both concerts will be special not only for their chosen programme, featuring all of the solo partitas and sonatas by the outstanding German composer Johann Sebastian Bach, but also for the instrument the musician will use - a legendary Stradivarius violin.
J.S. Bach's sonatas and partitas are unsurpassed masterpieces in music history. They possess exceptional musical depth and expressiveness while demanding the highest level of technical mastery from the musician. Many consider Bach's cycle of partitas and sonatas one of the most important cornerstones of European classical music, leaving an indelible mark on 20th-century music. It is fair to say that the entire solo violin repertoire after Bach, albeit indirectly, refers to these masterpieces of violin playing.
In her interpretations, Kristīne Balanas demonstrates that Bach's sonatas and partitas, with their timeless modernity, remain essential and relevant to contemporary listeners. Her playing illuminates the spiritual dimension of Bach's violin works, a quality found in all outstanding music.
The concert will be performed on a legendary Stradivarius violin.
Antonio Stradivari is the world's most famous violin maker. He created around 1,000 violins - each a carefully crafted artistic masterpiece, valued by music lovers around the world for centuries. His violins have never been surpassed in excellence of sound, beauty, or precision of craftsmanship. One of these famous violins from the Stradivari family will be heard at both concerts, performed by virtuoso violinist Kristīne Balanas.
Programme.
First evening, May 24, concert in two parts
Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001.
Partita No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006.
Intermission 30 minutes
Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005.
Second evening, May 25, concert in two parts
Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003.
Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002.
Intermission 30 minutes
Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004.
Guests are invited to arrive from 6:15 p.m. for a glass of welcome wine and a viewing of the current exhibitions. On view now are Edīte Pauls-Vīgneres' exhibition ‘’Age Plays’’ and the exhibition ‘’Alongside the Ideal’’, featuring 29 leading Latvian contemporary artists.
BIO
Violinist Kristīne BALANAS - one of the fastest-rising talents on the world's stages. The newspaper The Times has described her as a dazzlingly virtuosic musician. A laureate of the Latvian Great Music Award in the category Young Artist of the Year, she won third place in the International ARD Music Competition, received the Young Talent Award from the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute, and the Director's Award from the Royal Academy of Music in London. “Untamed, bold, thrilling performance” - this is how the magazine The Strad describes Kristīne's playing.
She has performed in world-famous concert halls, including the Berlin Philharmonie, London's Southbank Centre, and the Purcell, Barbican, and Carnegie Halls in New York, as well as elsewhere around the world. As a soloist, she has performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Paris Chamber Orchestra, Israel's Camerata Jerusalem, the Marche Philharmonic Orchestra in Italy, the Sendai Symphony Orchestra in Japan, Cardiff Sinfonietta , and many others.
