World premiere recordings of works by Andris Dzenitis performed by various artists including Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Latvian Radio Choir and Silesian String Quartet. All recordings are live.
”I have followed Andris Dzenitis’ path in music with great pleasure and genuine interest. From his first compositions while still a student at the Darzin s school, which were quite unusual for a young composer in their depth and sometimes even tragedy, to the masterpieces he creates today. His roots are in Latvia, yet he’s participated in European musical processes - in short, Dzenitis has forged his own way ahead. I’d like to call it a mountain climber’s path. Wishing him strength and endurance” - Peteris Vasks, Dzeniitis’ former teacher.
Andris Dzenitis (1978) feels most at home with large-format compositions, both in terms of time and composition, in which he can take his time and fully enjoy the limitless possibilities of colour available with an orchestra and the many varied choral voicings. His musical language is at once contemporary and romantic, very expressive and yet reserved and contemplative. Dzeniitis’ works are an essential part of Latvian concert life, but they have also gained wide international resonance and are regularly performed at significant festivals abroad.
Review: In no sense is this music neo-romantic or post-modern. Dzenitis, as he speaks through these scores, does not have melody as his object or even as the pathway towards his artistic gaols. He can however grasp and express majesty and this is heard to the finest advantage in the quite magnificent Postludium. Ice - a work that has a symphonic spirit if not a symphonic name. Dzenitis’ concerns are modernist and the music is dissonant if not brutally so. --Rob Barnett, MusicWeb
