Vasks Presence - Album

Pēteris Vasks Born April 16 1946 Is A Latvian Composer. Vasks Was Born In Aizpute Latvia To A Family Of A Baptist Pastor. He Trained As A Double-Bass Player And Played In Several Latvian Orchestras Before Entering The State Conservatory In Vilnius In The Neighboring Lithuania To Study Composition As He Was Prevented From Doing This In Latvia Due To Soviet Repressive Policy Toward Baptists. He Started To Become Known Outside Latvia In The 1990s. Initially Vasks' Style Owed Much To The Aleatoric Experiments Of Witold Lutosławski Krzysztof Penderecki And George Crumb. Later Works Included Elements Of Latvian Folk Music Such As His Gentle And Pastoral Cor Anglais Concerto 1989 . His Works Are Generally Extremely Clear And Communicative With A Solid And Muscular Sense Of Harmony. Lyrical Passages May Be Followed By Agitated Dissonances Or Interrupted By Sombre Sections With A March-Like Feel. He Made Extensive Use Of Minimalist Techniques As Well But Never Became A Slave To Any Particular Method. Vasks Feels Strongly About Environmental Issues And A Sense Of Nature Both Pristine And Destroyed Can Be Found In Many Of His Works Such As The String Quartet No. 2 1984 . Other Important Works Include Cantabile 1979 And Musica Dolorosa 1984 . He Has Written Five String Quartets The Fourth Of Which 2003 Was Written For The Kronos Quartet. Vasks Was The Recipient Of The Vienna Herder Award In 1996 And The Latvian Grand Music Award In 1997 The Latter For His Violin Concerto Tālā Gaisma 1996-7 . His Important Works Also Include "Viatore" Symphony #2 "Music For A Deceased Friend" Et Al. read less