Gleb Pyšniak, cello / Lithuania

Guntars Freibergs, percussion

Pavel Giunter, percussion / Lithuania

Gleb Pyšniak, the most brilliant Lithuanian cello player of the younger generation, Guntars Freibergs, one of the leading Latvian percussionists, and Pavel Giunter, a legend of the Lithuanian percussion scene, team up to present the audience of Cello Cēsis Festival with an expressive and multi-faceted programme of music by Baltic composers, driven by interaction between the cello and percussion instruments.

The opening part of the concert is conceived as expressive and dynamic, Anatolijus Šenderovas’ (Lithuania) 1992 Sonata for cello and percussion followed by the rhythmically exciting Israeli composer Avner Dorman’s ‘Gyro’ for percussion duet, bringing together Oriental folk influences and avant-garde. The more emotionally intimate middle part of the programme features an arrangement for cello solo and two percussions of ‘Fratres’ by the legendary Estonian master of sound Arvo Pärt. As the concert approaches its final section, we will listen to another piece by Anatolijus Šenderovas, his ‘Two Songs of Sulamith’, rich in Oriental intonations. The programme will conclude with the world premiere of a dynamic and energetic new composition by the Latvian composer Platons Buravickis, ‘Time Conspersion’ for two percussions and cello.

The loyal audience of the Cello Cēsis international festival will not find this somewhat unusual combination ‒ cello and percussion ‒ unfamiliar: the 2019 edition of the festival saw one of the most talented Latvian cellists Ēriks Kiršfelds and the Perpetuum Ritmico ensemble of percussionists perform the famous ‘Snow in June’ elegy for cello and percussion ensemble by the Chinese composer and conductor Tan Dun.