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Chamber orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga
Primarily being an oboist, Normunds Šnē has become one of the most important Latvian conductors at the present time.
In the late 1980’s he established the Riga Chamber Players group and, some years later, The Riga Festival Orchestra. With Normunds as the conductor and artistic director, they were responsible for a large number of contemporary music premieres in Latvia; the audiences in Riga were able to hear the masterpieces by Messiaen (Turgangalîla-Symphonie), Scelsi (Uaxuctum), Berio (Sinfonia) and other 20th century greats performed live for the first time.
Since 2006 he is the musical director of the Chamber Orchestra Sinfonietta Riga. From season to season they have blended avant-garde compositions with a wide range of Baroque music, Vienna classics, and Romanticism in an extravagant and daring way, building up a devoted and open-minded audience. Their musicianship has been awarded a Grammy Award and recurrently – the Latvian Great Music Award. Normunds has had an extended collaboration with Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and Liepaja Symphony Orchestra; he has stood on the podiums of Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, Ostrobothnian Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, and Latvian National Opera. He is a nine-time recipient of the Latvian Great Music Award.
He has shared the stage with distinguished world-renowned soloists. Among them are Peter Donahoe, Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Behzod Abduraimov, Patrick Gallois, Yevgeny Sudbin, Marc Bouchkov, Elīna Garanča, David Geringas, Tatyana Grindenko, Natalia Gutman, Gidon Kremer, Christian Lindberg, Truls Mjørk, Crispian Steele-Perkins, Terje Rypdal, Mstislav Rostropovich, Peter Erskine, Evelyn Glennie, Joe Zawinul, Valdis Zariņš and many others.
Together with Sinfonietta Riga, he continues to explore the never-ending contemporary music scene, including regular commissions for new chamber symphonies from Latvian composers.
Normunds studied conducting with Maestro Jorma Panula in Amsterdam, Professor Yuri Simonov in Budapest and Miskolc, and Professor Imants Resnis in Riga.
Latvian pianist Agnese Egliņa possesses sharp-edged stage presence, playful dexterity and plenty of excitement and vigour. Agnese Egliņa is a laureate of the highest music award in Latvia The Grand Music Award for outstanding ensemble work and of many awards for best performance as pianist-accompanist at international competitions. By actively participating in different chamber music projects Agnese Egliņa has become one of the most influential Latvian pianists of her generation.
Agnese Eglina has performed in South African Republic, Zambia, Zimbabwe, USA (New York, Washington, Cleveland), Estonia, Russia, Switzerland, Gibraltar, Italy, Germany, Austria, Albania, Norway, Finland et al. Lately Agnese Egliņa has included more solo repertoire into her concerts. As soloist she has performed with Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and Liepāja Symphony Orchestra. She has collaborated with chamber orchestra Sinfonietta Riga and Latvian Radio Choir. The pianist performs regularly with the leading Latvian musicians and has performed with internationally-acclaimed soloists, such as Chen Halevi, Nicolas Baldeyrou, Thomas Indermühle, Christian Schmitt and many others.
As a soloist and chamber musician Agnese Egliņa has participated in many music festivals. She has appeared in Promenade at Lusaka, Zambia, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, International Montpellier Music Festival, VII Kremerata Baltica Festival, 16th and 21st Liepāja International Piano Stars Festival, Latvian chamber music festival Schubertiade at Ungurmuiža, Contemporary Music Festival Arēna and many others.
Besides performing on stage Agnese Egliņa works with the young chamber musicians at Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. Every year she gives several masterclasses in Latvia and at international level. Since 2014 Agnese has repeatedly given masterclasses and concerts in Lusaka, Zambia and Johannesburg, South African Republic.
Agnese Egliņa was born in Liepāja, Latvia, into a musician family. She received her first musical education at the Emilis Melngailis Music School and Emīls Dārziņš Music School. Later she continued her studies at Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music and Zurich University of the Arts, which she graduated with excellence.
Pēteris Endzelis began learning to play the oboe in the Emīls Dārziņš Music School with Uldis Urbāns, moving on to Liepāja Music College, followed by oboe studies in Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music under Vilnis Pelnēns.
From 1998 to 2005 Endzelis was the principal oboist in the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra. Since 2001 he has been the principal oboe in the Latvian National Opera and Ballet. As of 2011 he is also the lead oboist in the Chamber Orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga, directed by Normunds Šnē.
He has performed as a soloist with Gidon Kremer and the Chamber Orchestra Kremerata Baltica, with Marta Sudraba in some of the most famous European concert venues, as well as with the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra and the Latvian National Opera and Ballet orchestra. He has also performed in the David Oistrakh Festival in Pärnu.
Pēteris Endzelis has worked with such esteemed conductors as Mstislav Rostropovich, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Mariss Jansons, Andris Nelsons, Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Heinz Holliger, Krzysztof Penderecki, Olari Elts, Andris Poga, Cornelius Meister etc.
He regularly collaborates with the Nordic Symphony orchestra, the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra.
In 2010 Endzelis received the Latvijas Gāze Annual Award as the Best Orchestra musician.
Joy of learning and discovery of new horizons are the traits that best describe the Grammy-winning State Chamber Orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga. Since its foundation in 2006, the orchestra's artistic director and chief conductor has been Normunds Šnē. Sinfonietta Rīga musicians are young, erudite and bursting with creativity. They are assiduous students of the musical heritage of the First and Second Viennese School and eager presenters of the musical phenomena and styles of the 20th century, while continuing to look for the brightest revelations in contemporary music scene. Among the ambitions of the orchestra is promotion and development of chamber symphony genre in Latvian music, therefore twice a year Sinfonietta Rīga commissions a new chamber symphony score to contemporary Latvian composers.
Sinfonietta Rīga often collaborates with guest conductors, and has staged thematically and stylistically varied programmes together with Paavo Järvi, Heinz Holliger, John Storgårds, Christoph Poppen, Olari Elts, Juha Kangas and Tõnu Kaljuste.
Among the brilliant soloists that have performed together with Sinfonietta Rīga are classical singers Julia Lezhneva and Inga Kalna; pianists Kristian Bezuidenhout, Nelson Goerner and Yevgeny Sudbin; internationally renowned Latvian organist Iveta Apkalna; violinists Isabelle Faust, Kolja Blacher, Baiba Skride, Pekka Kuusisto and Thomas Zehtmair; cellists Sol Gabetta and Jean-Guihen Queyras; and the members of the Berlin-based Artemis Quartet – violinist Vineta Sareika and violist Gregor Sigl, as well as Ukrainian violist Maxim Rysanov. The orchestra has also enjoyed collaborations with clarinetist and composer Jörg Widmann; trombone soloist Christian Lindberg; percussionists Martin Grubinger, Evelyn Glennie and Peter Erskine; accordionist Ksenija Sidorova; Argentinian bandoneon player Marcelo Nisinman; oboe soloist Alexei Ogrintchouk; and early music experts Andrew Lawrence-King and Enrico Onofri. Over the years, the orchestra has developed a close creative friendship with Latvian Radio Choir and its conductor Sigvards Kļava. Together, they stage several musical programmes each year, including first performances of Latvian sacred music.
Along with active concert life in Latvia and the other two Baltic States, Sinfonietta Rīga has performed in the Elbphilharmonie and the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, the Kölner Philharmonie in Cologne, the Herkulessaal in Munich and the Alte Oper in Frankfurt. In Netherlands, the orchestra has performed several times, both in Amsterdam's Muziekgebouw and De Doelen in Rotterdam; and it has also conquered the hearts of audiences in St. Petersburg Philharmonia and the Lincoln Center in New York.
Sinfonietta Rīga is a frequent guest in festivals of various sizes in Latvia and abroad. In July 2016, led by maestro Paavo Järvi, the orchestra opened the 6th Pärnu Music Festival, and has visited the prominent Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm several times. In February 2017, together with Latvian Radio Choir, Sinfonietta Rīga had its debut at the Elbphilharmonie, performing a retrospective of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt's works at the introvert art festival Lux Aeterna; in June 2018 both collectives came together to perform the same programme again, this time at the Kissinger Sommer festival in the spa town Bad Kissingen in Bavaria. To celebrate the centenary of the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia, in October 2018 Sinfonietta Rīga participated for the first time in the Cafe Budapest festival, and together with accordionist Ksenija Sidorova gave concerts in Malmö, Gothenburg and Örebro concert halls.
The orchestra began its 15th anniversary season together with the award-winning Belgian violinist Mark Bouchkov, laureate of the Queen Elizabeth Competition and International Tchaikovsky Competition. In October, Sinfonietta Riga had another long-awaited rendezvous with one of the most prominent figures in contemporary European music, 'Mozart of the 21st century' - clarinettist and composer Jörg Widmann. In November, the orchestra will welcome one of the past decade's most acclaimed pianists Yevgeny Sudbin. To celebrate the anniversary year of Ludwig van Beethoven, Sinfonietta Rīga and State Academic Choir Latvija, led by Estonian conductor Tõnu Kaljuste, are staging his majestic Missa solemnis.
In 2021, the season will continue with the concerts of the great American violinist Midori, the concertmaster of Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, violinist Florian Donderer and the versatile Swedish soprano Lisa Larsson. The world famous Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča will join Sinfonietta Rīga for the 85th jubilee concert of Latvian composer and pianist Raimonds Pauls. Finally, in May, the orchestra will ascend the stage of Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw for the first time, performing together with oboe virtuoso Alexei Ogrintchouk.
For its musical and cultural contribution Sinfonietta Rīga has received the coveted national seal of approval – the Grand Latvian Music Award – four times. Its participation in the recording of Adam’s Lament by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, released by ECM, brought the orchestra the acclaimed Grammy Award. Sinfonietta Rīga has recorded numerous other albums that have been released by its devoted partners Wergo, Ondine, Onyx, Edition Records, Challenge Records, Signum Records and Latvian national record label SKANI. The orchestra's latest studio album, recorded together with violist Maxim Rysanov, is released in spring 2020 by BIS Records.
