Digital release: Antje Weithaas plays Pēteris Vasks' second violin concerto ’In Evening Light’
Pēteris Vasks (*1946) wrote his second violin concerto Vakara gaismā (In Evening Light) – like his first violin concerto 25 years earlier – for violin and string orchestra. The Latvian composer, composition teacher and double bassist created the commissioned work in 2020. The studio recording, which is now available, was made in connection with a concert series in Bern/CH in February 2024 with soloist and conductor Antje Weithaas and the Camerata Bern.
Vasks’ unmistakable string sounds unfold a restless, varied soundscape that is characterised by both the vast landscapes of Latvia and the metaphor of evening light. The first movement is dominated by an idyllic sound painting, which is contrasted in the second movement by effectively utilised dissonances and ecstatic tone sequences.
The evening light, which gives the work its title, is at the centre of Vasks’ reflections on the evening of man’s life. A calm, melancholy atmosphere of farewell prevails in the framing movements, which leads back to the initial calm through a glimmer of hope in the last movement.
CAvi HD & SD DIGITAL RELEASE ONLY
Co-production with Deutschlandfunk
Pre-release Track September 13, 2024
Release: September 27, 2024
Further details: www.avi-music.de
Distribution: all worldwide platform