Andris Dzenitis: E(Go)

Description

World premiere recordings of works by Andris Dzenitis performed by various artists including Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Latvian Radio Choir and Silesian String Quartet. All recordings are live.

"I have followed Andris Dzeni¯tis' path in music with great pleasure and genuine interest. From his first compositions while still a student at the Darzin¸s school, which were quite unusual for a young composer in their depth and sometimes even tragedy, to the masterpieces he creates today. His roots are in Latvia, yet he's participated in European musical processes – in short, Dzenitis has forged his own way ahead. I'd like to call it a mountain climber's path. Wishing him strength and endurance" Peteris Vasks, Dzeniitis' former teacher.

"Since the beginning of our collaboration I have found Andris Dzenitis to be the very model of what a contemporary composer should stand for in our day and age. I regularly perform Andris' music because it has a high emotional and artistic message. He writes very well for orchestra, which means that the musicians very quickly understand his structural and musical intentions. In fact, that is precisely why his music is so successful because the public immediately hears music that reaches their hearts and mind and in so doing relate to the collective power of the musical experience. Andris is also deeply committed to helping shape the performance of his works. He has always been present in rehearsals for all the performances I have given of his compositions. This commitment to excellence is another reason why it is a great pleasure to collaborate with him now and indeed in the future." Karel Mark Chichon, OBE, Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie

Andris Dzenitis (1978) feels most at home with large-format compositions, both in terms of time and composition, in which he can take his time and fully enjoy the limitless possibilities of colour available with an orchestra and the many varied choral voicings. His musical language is at once contemporary and romantic, very expressive and yet reserved and contemplative. Dzeniitis' works are an essential part of Latvian concert life, but they have also gained wide international resonance and are regularly performed at significant festivals abroad.

Andris Dzenitis major symphonic work "Mara" will be premiered by Andris Nelsons and both of his orchestras (Leipziger Gewandhaus and Boston Symphony Orchestra) in 2018

Review:
In no sense is this music neo-romantic or post-modern. Dzenitis, as he speaks through these scores, does not have melody as his object or even as the pathway towards his artistic gaols. He can however grasp and express majesty and this is heard to the finest advantage in the quite magnificent Postludium. Ice - a work that has a symphonic spirit if not a symphonic name. Dzenitis' concerns are modernist and the music is dissonant if not brutally so. --Rob Barnett, MusicWeb