Arturs Maskats Accordion Concerto, Tango, Cantus diatonicus & My River Runs to Thee Ksenija Sidorova, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Andris Poga

• Arturs Maskats (b. 1957): Tango (2022):
• 1Maskats: Tango (2022)11:15
• Accordion Concerto "What the Wind Told Over the Sea":
• 2Maskats: Accordion Concerto "What the Wind Told Over the Sea": I. Andante, misterioso03:52
• 3Maskats: Accordion Concerto "What the Wind Told Over the Sea": II. Allegretto06:11
• 4Maskats: Accordion Concerto "What the Wind Told Over the Sea": III. Blues03:54
• 5Maskats: Accordion Concerto "What the Wind Told Over the Sea": IV. Cadenza. Moderato05:06
• Cantus diatonicus (1982):
• 6Maskats: Cantus diatonicus (1982)06:56
• My River Runs to Thee (Homage to Emily Dickinson):
• 7Maskats: My River Runs to Thee (Homage to Emily Dickinson)16:31
• Total Runtime53:45

Info for Arturs Maskats Accordion Concerto, Tango, Cantus diatonicus & My River Runs to Thee

"Latvian composer Arturs Maskats (b. 1957) has been at the center of Latvian cultural life for decades, especially in the field of theater and opera. Besides operas, incidental music and film music, his catalogue of works includes several orchestral works and concertos, songs and choral works. This new album by the Latvian National Orchestra and conductor Andris Poga includes one of Maskats’ latest creations in the field orchestral music: his Accordion Concerto (2021) here performed by his fellow Latvian, star-accordionist Ksenija Sidorova, one of the brightest names in classical music today. Maskats’ compositions are tonal, often romantic and cinematic, and marked by deep atmosphere. His international reputation largely rests on his Tango (2002), an award-winning work for symphony orchestra, which is also among the most-performed orchestral works by any Latvian composer. In 2022, the piece was also performed by the Wiener Philharmoniker and Andris Nelsons in the Summer Night Concert series in Schonbrunn. In essence, Maskats does to the tango something similar to what Ravel does to the waltz in his La Valse."

Ksenija Sidorova, accordion
Latvian National Symphony Orchestra
Andris Poga, conductor

Ksenija Sidorova
Encouraged to take up the instrument by her grandmother steeped in the folk tradition of accordion playing, Ksenija Sidorova started to play the instrument aged six under the guidance of Marija Gasele in her hometown of Riga. Her quest for more exposure to both classical and contemporary repertoire took her to London where she became a prize-winning undergraduate and postgraduate at the Royal Academy of Music studying under Owen Murray.

Praised as “revelatory” (New York Times) with “breathtaking virtuosity” (The Observer), Ksenija Sidorova is the leading ambassador for the classical accordion. Both a unique and charismatic performer, Ksenija is passionate about showcasing the vast capabilities of her instrument. Her repertoire spans from Bach to Piazzolla, from Efrem Podgaits and Václav Trojan, to Erkki-Sven Tüür and George Bizet, as well as new accordion concertos composed especially for her, plus a multitude of chamber projects.

Ksenija has worked with many leading orchestras including Munich Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchester-Zurich (residency in 2020/21), Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (Paavo Järvi), National Orchestra of Belgium (Aziz Shokhakimov), NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, MDR-Sinfonieorchester, Atlanta Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Kammerorchester des Bayerischen Rudfunks, NHK Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Camerata RCO and Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck.

She continues her artistic collaborations with Avi Avital, Pietro Roffiand her chamber music partners include Nemanja Radulovic, Andreas Ottensamer, Miloš Karadaglić, Camille Thomas, Goldmund Quartet, Juan Diego Flórez, Nicola Benedetti. Ksenija often appears at Ravinia, Cheltenham, Mostly Mozart, Schleswig-Holstein, Gstaad Menuhin, Verbier and Rheingaumusic festivals.

She has released a new album called Piazzolla Reflections on alpha recordings in 2021.

Andris Poga
has been the music director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra since 2013/2014 season. After a series of successful collaborations he has been invited back to the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, WDR Symphony Cologne, Munich Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Dresden Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.

Poga has also conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Wiener Symphoniker, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Orchestre National de France, Shanghai Symphony and Sydney Symphonym among many others. Poga will commence his tenure as the Chief Conductor of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra starting the 2021/2022 season.

In 2010, Andris Poga won the First Prize of the Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition, which thrust him into the international scene. He became an assistant to Paavo Järvi at the Orchestre de Paris, and from 2012 to 2014 he worked as an assistant conductor for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Booklet for Arturs Maskats Accordion Concerto, Tango, Cantus diatonicus & My River Runs to Thee