Riga Saxophone Quartet to perform in Kazakhstan, supported by Baltikums Bank


On Saturday, 22 November the Kazakh National University of Arts in Astana will host a concert by the Riga Saxophone Quartet for a large audience of culture and music aficionados.

The Riga Saxophone Quartet came to Astana after an invitation from the embassy of the Republic of Latvia in Kazakhstan to hold a festive performance in honour of Latvia’s national holidays. The two concerts in the capital of Kazakhstan are being organised in cooperation with Baltikums Bank.

 “The audience at the Kazakh National University of Arts will enjoy an extended, diverse programme defined, firstly, by the venue’s academic ambience and its long-standing musical training and concert traditions, and secondly, by the status of Riga as the 2014 Culture Capital of Europe and Latvia’s presidency at the EU Council in 2015. Riga has developed for centuries as a multinational city, inspiring us to present our music in a broader cultural context”, explains the quartet’s art director Artis Simanis. “And thirdly, we want to show the audience how the saxophone may be used to play back a variety of musical styles and genres, from baroque transpositions to original contemporary saxophone pieces, to world music and jazz adaptations,” A.Simanis adds.

“Baltikums Bank is proud to support the Riga Saxophone Quartet’s concerts in Astana. Events like these bring music to the forefront as a language that is common to all of us – a medium that connects and encourages cooperation in all walks of life, finance and business included. I am certain that these performances will bring about an era of appreciation for Latvian culture in our friendly state of Kazakhstan”, remarks Dmitrijs Latiševs, Baltikums Bank AS Chairman of the Board.

The Riga Saxophone Quartet made its promising debut in 1992, ushering in a new era for academic saxophone music in Latvia. The quartet performs frequently not only at the concert halls, but also at schools and churches, palaces and receptions, exhibition openings, open-air venues. Its performances have a deliberately democratic style – the unprecedented artistic aspirations, refined timbre and professional execution have been acclaimed by audiences, critics and music specialists alike. By compiling a wide-ranging repertoire, the quartet also made a great contribution to breaking the stereotype of the saxophone as a purely jazz instrument – for instance, the Riga Saxophone Quartet often performs adaptations of classical works.

Artis Sīmanis, the founder and director of the Riga Saxophone Quartet, is one of Latvia’s prominent saxophone players and the initiator and artistic director of the Saxophonia international saxophone music festival. Since 2007, Artis has been the rector of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. He continues to give saxophone classes as a professor and a schoolteacher. In 2010, he was awarded the Order of the Three Stars of the Republic of Latvia for exceptional achievement in promoting saxophone music.

On stage, the experienced quartet leader is joined by three younger saxophone players who, nevertheless, already have considerable international performing experience – Ilze Lejiņa, Ainars Šablovskis and Baiba Tilhena.

In over two decades since its foundation, the quartet has performed in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Russia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Portugal, Canada, China, USA, France, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy and Israel. It has participated in such internationally acclaimed music festivals as Probaltica (Poland), Jazz Kaar and Rainbow Jazz (Estonia), Upbeat (Norway and Sweden), the Baltic Cultural Festival (Finland), Étonnante Lettonie (France) and the World Saxophone Congress (in Montreal, Ljubljana and St. Andrews). The ensemble also represented the capital of Latvia during Riga Culture Days – in Warsaw, Porto, Lübeck, Moscow and Prague. In 1999, for its active concert life and artful performances, the Riga Saxophone Quartet received the Latvian Great Music Award – the pinnacle of recognition in Latvian music.

         Ingrīda Šmite,
         Public Relations Manager Baltikums Bank AS
         ingrida.smite@baltikums.eu

Riga Saxophone Quartet Riga Saxophone Quartet