Vask: Musica Serena / Musica Dolorosa

All works on this album, which is being released to mark Pēteris Vasks' 75th birthday, are written for string orchestra: the three interrelated compositions "Musica serena" (2015), "Musica dolorosa" (1983), and "Musica appassionata" (2002), as well as Vasks' second concerto for cello and strings, subtitled "Klātbūtne" (translated as: Presence; 2011/12). Vasks’ lighthearted, plaintive (processing the death of his sister as well as the political situation in Latvia at the time), and passionate instrumental pieces provide an overview of the diversity of his work over a period of nearly three decades. The title of his spiritual cello concerto refers to the pure being of his music, which is present without distance and in every stroke of the bow.