Trio Baltia's debut album features world premieres of contemporary and 20th century works for string trio by Latvian composers Peteris Vasks, Talivaldis Kenins, Gundaris Pone and Gundega Smite.
Gundega Smite is one of the most important female Latvian composers of the 21st century. Smite's string trio The White Birds is dedicated to Trio Baltia, whose members' personalities and musicianship inspired the composition's concept. Smite says: "The four-part cycle features four white birds that live in the Baltic region: mute swans, collared doves, seagulls and white storks. These are not impressive songbirds. White storks, for example, have a completely underdeveloped larynx and therefore produce only hissing and clattering sounds, while the most characteristic sound the graceful swans make is the flapping of their wings as they fly south for the winter. The tenderly cooing collared doves, for their part, live here all year round, as do the noisy, free-ranging seagulls, who carry with them the spirit of the sea."
Peteris Vasks is one of the best-known and most sought-after composers of classical music of our time. His self-reflecting Castillo interior was originally composed for violin and cello at the initiative of Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Sol Gabetta. The version for string trio was created in 2021 and premiered by Sandis Steinbergs, Ilze Klava and Inga Ozola at the Little Mezotne Palace on 31 July 2021. A passionate admirer of Peteris Vasks' music, Gabetta had asked him for a new work to honour Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), who founded several Carmelite monasteries and was a prominent mystic, thinker and writer.
Gundaris Pone is a composer with global breadth. He is undoubtedly among the most interesting and important figures in Latvian music, a man who must not remain only in history. Although he spent most of his life in the United States and Venice, we nevertheless refer to his work as "Latvian music" because Pone himself believed that Latvia was the true place for his scores. Pone stated: "The Gran duo funebre is a work that is associated with Latvia, or at least with northern Europe. That is why I chose these two darkest of the string instruments, although the sounds they make are not dark at all. The music of Shostakovich had a certain influence, especially his String Quartet No. 8, although you won't hear anything at all from it in my Gran duo. In my opinion, Latvians have never perceived death as tragically as, for example, the Arabs or southern peoples, instead approaching the issue of death with a sunnier outlook. My intention was not to write mourning music but to show how Latvians regard this big, final question. Gran duo is the answer."
Talivaldis Kenins is one of the most notable Latvian composers - neoromantically inclined, harsh, assertive, technically virtuosic. Born in Latvia and having studied in France, he lived in Canada for the remainder of his life. Kenins is also one of Canada's most-performed composers.In the spring of 1989, Talivaldis Kenins visited Latvia for the first time since fleeing the country during the Second World War. That same year, Kenins composed the String Trio. It is now virtually impossible to say whether the visit to his native land left any traces in this masterpiece of chamber music, but we may assume that it did, because the reunion with Riga - which he hadn't seen for more than forty years - could have been a very moving experience.
String Trio Baltia is one of the most recognized and innovative chamber ensembles from Latvia. It's artists Paula Sumane (violin), Jevgenija Frolova (viola) and Anna Veselova (cello) are members of some of the best European orchestras, brilliant soloists and active promoters of contemporary music.
