The World-famous Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons to Perform in Riga Tonight
The world-famous Grammy Award winning Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) will perform two exclusive concerts for the Latvian public under Andris Nelsons’s direction today and tomorrow. The eminent Latvian violinist Baiba Skride will also be performing with the prestigious orchestra on the Latvian National Opera stage.
These concerts in Latvia are organised by the Andrejs Žagars Cultural Development Foundation, which continues to gift the Latvian public the unique possibilities to experience the finest of arts via special events.
The concerts in Riga are part of BSO’s European tour, which is dedicated to Dmitri Shostakovich’s works, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death. The tour also marks the conclusion of BSO and Andris Nelsons’s ten-year-long music recording project, which was realised at the Deutsche Grammophon record label and has been compiled in 19 albums.
BSO will visit only four European cities during their tour from May 8th until May 24th. The tour began with concerts at the Vienna Musikverein. It will continue with concerts in Riga and Prague, and come to a conclusion with a residency spanning eight days at the Shostakovich Festival in Leipzig.
At today’s press event, director of the Andrejs Žagars Cultural Development Foundation Arturs Maskats said: “The concerts of the Boston Orchestra – one of the most famous symphonic ensembles not only in the USA, but also in the whole world – are awaited with exceptional interest and attention by the Latvian public and the arts and culture communities. This orchestra is under the leadership of Andris Nelsons – one of the greatest conductors of our time –, who started his musical journey in Latvia. The world-renowned Latvian violinist Baiba Skride will be performing as a soloist at one of the concerts. Andris Nelsons has previously introduced the Latvian public to excellent orchestras, but the Boston Symphony Orchestra will be visiting here for the first time. It all gives this event a special meaning and an aura of hope.”
At the May 11 concert in Riga, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 6, Op. 54 and Symphony No. 8, Op. 65 will be performed. On May 12th – Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 15, Op. 141 as well as Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 99 performed by the outstanding Latvian violinist Baiba Skride. The Latvian violinist has performed numerous times with the Nelsons-led orchestra in the USA, the UK and at various other places in Europe.
BSO’s Music Director and Head of Conducting at Tanglewood Andris Nelsons: “I am proud and joyous to introduce the Latvian public to the Boston Symphony Orchestra and to take the listeners to Dmitri Shostakovich’s musical cosmos together with them and our excellent violinist Baiba Skride. The concerts will allow to experience the composer’s complicated personal fate and the many facets of human existence: from fear, darkness and biting irony and sarcasm to childlike playfulness, joy and burgeoning hopefulness. This meeting with the public in Latvia is exciting and that undoubtedly is a significant event for me.”
BSO president and director Chad Smith: “We are thrilled to perform in Riga for the first time in the Boston Symphony’s 144-year history and are very grateful to the Žagars Cultural Development Foundation and the Latvian National Opera for hosting us. And, of course, we thank our superbly talented Music Director Andris Nelsons for suggesting we visit his native city on our Shostakovich tour and that we include his very talented compatriot and friend Baiba Skride as our guest soloist. The music we are performing here and in the three other cities on our European tour resonates so deeply and personally with Andris, and it has been a great gift to have him share his affinity for Shostakovich with our players and audiences over the past decade.”
Baiba Skride, violinist: “Coming home to Riga touches something very deep in me. This is where everything began—where I grew up, surrounded by the love of music that shaped who I am today.
It was here in Riga that I first discovered and fell in love with the music of Dmitri Shostakovich. His work has been a part of my life ever since. Shostakovich reminds us of the extraordinary power that music and art can have—for all of humanity. His music can carry us through difficult times, offer strength, and remind us to savor the moments of joy and light.
It is a true privilege to perform this concerto in my hometown, on this stage, with the incredible Boston Symphony Orchestra and my dear friend and collaborator, the extraordinary Andris Nelsons. These are musicians I admire deeply, trust fully, and feel closely connected to.
To share this experience surrounded by my family, my childhood memories, and the warmth of the Latvian audience—who have supported me for so many years—is something I will cherish forever.
I am proud to be Latvian and deeply grateful to celebrate our music and spirit together in this way.”
The Andrejs Žagars Cultural Development Foundation has also produced exceptional educational events in collaboration with BSO. On May 13th, students of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (JVLMA) will participate in masterclasses which will be instructed by BSO principal clarinettist William R. Hudgins. Furthermore, today’s dress rehearsal will be attended by the students of the JVLMA Orchestral Conducting and Composition study programmes for educational purposes.
Although tickets for the concerts are sold out, the Latvian National Opera presents a live open-air broadcast of this exceptional event tonight in front of the opera house. The attendance of the broadcast viewing will be free of charge and open to all. The square will feature a café from 18.00.
Celebrated for its diverse programs, passionate performances, and tradition of innovation, the BSO is one of the world’s most accomplished and versatile ensembles, attracting world-renowned guest artists and players, composers, conductors and, of course, the widest of audiences. Now in its 144th season, the Boston Symphony Orchestra gave its inaugural concert in 1881, realizing the dream of its founder, the Civil War veteran / businessman / philanthropist Henry Lee Higginson, who envisioned a great and permanent orchestra in his hometown of Boston. Today the BSO reaches millions of listeners through not only its concert performances in Boston and at Tanglewood, but also via the internet, radio, television, educational programs, recordings, and tours.
In the 2024-2025 season, Andris Nelsons celebrates ten years as the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Ray and Maria Stata Music Director. Nelsons became the fifteenth music director in the BSO’s history at the start of the 2014-2015 season. He made his debut with the orchestra at Carnegie Hall in March 2011, his Tanglewood debut in July 2012, and his Symphony Hall debut in January 2013. In January 2024, Head of Conducting at Tanglewood was added to his title to reflect his expanded commitment to pre-professional training. In the music world he is renowned as one of his generation’s most excellent interprets of Shostakovich; he has recorded all of Shostakovich’s symphonies with BSO and has earned three Grammy Awards.
Baiba Skride’s natural approach to music-making has endeared her to many of today’s most prestigious conductors and orchestras worldwide. Baiba Skride is an internationally sought-after chamber musician and performs regularly at festivals and concert halls across the world, including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Musikverein Wien, Wigmore Hall London, Louvre Paris, as well as touring in North America and Australia.
Baiba Skride is open to new musical experiences; she is an advocate for new music and some of today’s most prominent composers have written concerti just for her.
The BSO concerts in Riga are organised by the Andrejs Žagars Cultural Development Foundation in special thanks to the support of Rietumu Banka and “Compensa Vienna Insurance Group” ADB Latvia branch, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, Riga City Council, “Latvijas Gāze” AS and Zuzeum Art Centre.
