The Toronto Latvian Concert Association is pleased to offer this recording featuring the music of Janis Kalnins, Talivaldis Kenins, and Imant Raminsh as a tribute to the significant contribution made by Canadians of Latvian heritage to music and culture in Canada. All three composers represented here found a welcoming refuge in this country after the Second World War and, in the process of rebuilding their lives and careers, left a lasting legacy, not just as creators and composers, but also as educators and mentors.

Laura Zarina studied at the Latvian Academy of Music before completing her master’s degree in Berlin. She has performed with the Latvian National Symphony, Estonian Symphony, Mainz Chamber Orchestra and North German Philharmonic at Rostock and is a frequent performer at chamber music festivals around the world. She currently lives in Germany.

Born to Latvian parents in Lübeck Germany in 1946, Arthur Ozolins has been at the heart of music making in Canada for more than 40 years. He has recorded the complete concerti and Rhapsody on the Theme of Paganini of Rachmaninoff for CBC Records and was recipient of the first JUNO Award given in classical music

This album includes a new recording of Kalnins’ Concerto for violin and orchestra in F-sharp minor with soloist Laura Zarina and members of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, conducted by Maris Sirmais.  Ms. Zarina and Mr. Ozolins also perform on the premiere recording of Raminsh’s Aria for violin and piano. And finally, a live performance of the 1991 world premiere from the CBC concert archives of Kenins’ Concerto for piano with string orchestra and percussion performed by Mr. Ozolins and The Latvian Festival Orchestra, conducted by Alfred Strombergs.

 

Janis Kalnins                            
Concerto for violin and orchestra in F-sharp minor (1945)

Imant Raminsh
Aria for violin & piano (1987)

Talivaldis Kenins
Concerto for piano, string orchestra, and percussion (1990)