 |
|
New York Philharmonic and Birmingham Symphony Orchestra to perform in Riga in 2010
The world-famous symphony orchestra New York Philharmonic will perform in Riga on November 2 next year; at the end of the same month the capital of Latvia will host a concert by the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Latvian Andris Nelsons.
"It is an immensely grand, risky and expensive project," the director of "Latvijas koncerti" concert agency Guntars Kirsis commented. Talks on hosting a New York Philharmonic concert in Riga have been held for several years already, and also Nelsons is "hard to hunt down," the director of "Latvijas koncerti" explained.
Due to acoustic specifics, Latvian National Opera house cannot host symphonic music concerts, while the Great Guild Hall has a seating capacity for only 660 persons. In order for a concert of such an orchestra as New York Philharmonic to pay back, a concert venue with a seating capacity for at least 2,500 people is needed.
Director of "Latvijas koncerti" underlined that no state budget resources would be spent on organizing the New York Philharmonic concert in Riga. Talks with prospective sponsors for the event are currently underway.
It will be the first time that the New York Philharmonic musicians will perform in Latvia; the orchestra picked Riga as a place for their concert within the framework of their tour around Europe.
The Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in its turn will perform at the Latvian National Opera House on November 26 and November 27, 2010; the acclaimed Latvian pianist Vestards Šimkus will will play piano solo at the concerts.
Andris Nelsons became the chief conductor and the artistic director of the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in the beginning of the 2008-2009 season. His cooperation with the orchestra has proved successful and his working contracting has been extended until year 2014.
|
|
