Forgotten Holst work and Elgar Cello Concerto to be performed in Liepāja
On 7 November the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra and Latvian cellist Margarita Balanas will perform British works at the Great Amber concert hall. The programme includes Gustav Holst's Fantasist Suite, not heard by an audience since its 1912 premiere.
On Saturday, 7 November, the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra will give a concert at the "Lielais dzintars" (Great Amber) concert hall in Liepāja, Latvia, featuring works by three early 20th-century British composers. British conductor Douglas Bostock will lead the orchestra, and Latvian cellist Margarita Balanas will be the soloist. The concert is part of a weekly selection of cultural events compiled by the Latvian portal NRA.
Elgar's Cello Concerto
At the centre of the programme is Edward Elgar's Concerto for Cello and Orchestra. It is the central work of the composer's late period and one of the most significant pieces in the cello repertoire. Critics describe Balanas as one of the most brilliant cellists of her generation.
In comments on the concert, Guntis Kuzma says Elgar's concerto demands deep inner concentration from a soloist and the ability to sustain dramatic tension. In his view, Balanas's playing has the dramatic force the piece requires. Because she is also a conductor, she shapes the solo part as a living dialogue with the orchestra.
Vaughan Williams's London Symphony
The orchestra will also perform Ralph Vaughan Williams's London Symphony, one of the most important British symphonic works of the early 20th century. It contains audible elements of London, including Westminster bell motifs, street musicians' tunes and the rhythmic tension of the city. The work marks the composer's shift from a nationally romantic style towards a broader symphonic approach.
Holst's Fantasist Suite
The programme also includes Gustav Holst's Fantasist Suite, which in Liepāja will meet an audience for the first time since its premiere in 1912. According to Bostock, after that single performance Holst withdrew the piece and removed it from his official list of works, regarding it as an artistically imperfect idea. As a result, the suite has remained outside the concert repertoire. Holst's family roots are also linked to Riga.
The suite combines vivid symphonic colours, rhythmic vitality and experimental form, offering insight into the formation of the composer's creative language. Bostock is an internationally recognised conductor and teacher, and one feature of his work is the rediscovery of lesser-known and forgotten repertoire.
