All the works of the Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks on this CD are written for string orchestra: the three connected compositions Musica serena (2015, dedicated to the Finnish conductor Juhga Kangas), Musica dolorosa (1983) and Musica appassionata (2002), and also Vasks’ Concerto no.2 for cello and strings, also known as Klātbūtne (“Presence”, 2011/12). Vasks’ three instrumental pieces here are light-hearted, tragic (dealing with the death of his sister as well as the political situation in Latvia at the time), and passionate, providing an overview of the diversity of his work across a timespan of almost three decades. His deeply spiritual Cello Concerto, which was premiered by Sol Gabetta and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta and conducted by Candida Thompson in Ghent, refers in its title to the pure being of his music – which is present, without distance, in every movement of the bow.

The beauty that Pēteris Vasks evokes in his works would not be possible without the experience of violence and cruelty in this world. He grew up in a country deprived of liberty, and because of his faith and his artistic convictions he was subjected to reprisals from Russian cultural doctrine. His father, a Baptist pastor, was considered an “enemy of the state”, and his homeland was under Soviet control. As a result Vasks developed a vision of freedom and subtle protest in his music. In the so-called “singing revolution”, the countries of the Baltic region with their traditional love of choral music initiated their independence from Soviet rule.

Vasks’ expressive, direct and often deliberately simple music quickly became the mouthpiece of the long-suppressed Latvian people, giving the nation a proud voice that can be heard worldwide. Today, alongside Arvo Pärt and Erkki Sven-Tüür, Pēteris Vasks is one of the most famous composers from the Baltic states of the former Soviet Union. On 16 April 2021, the music world celebrates his 75th birthday.