Philip Glass AND the group SIGMA

July 18, 19:30 at the Cēsis Concert Hall.

Performers in the concert:

Pianist: Jānis Ozoliņš

Group Sigma: Jānis Ozoliņš (vocals, keyboards), Kaspars Lastovskis (bass), and Uģis Eihvalds (percussion)

String and wind instrument section of the Vidzeme Chamber Orchestra.

Costume Designer: Elīna Pērkone

Lighting Designer: Reinis Zalte

Sound Direction: Haralds Stenclavs

Producer: Inese Kuka

The first part of the concert will feature piano music gems by Philip Glass from various cycles: Books I and II of Etudes, music from the film “The Hours”, as well as meditative piano pieces “Opening” and “Mad Rush”.

Jānis Ozoliņš is known not only as a composer and leader of the group Sigma, but also as a passionate interpreter of Philip Glass's piano music. In 2017, with the concert program “Eighty” dedicated to Glass's anniversary, he toured Latvian concert halls, introducing the audience to the most significant piano works of the American composer. This will be his return to Glass's piano music.

The second part of the concert will feature music by the group Sigma from all three acclaimed studio albums together with the Vidzeme Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Andris Veismanis.

As Uldis Rudaks has noted, “Sigma is undoubtedly one of the most interesting phenomena in contemporary Latvian music, occupying the space that Rufus Wainwright, Patrick Wolf, and Perfume Genius hold in the world, who can also be described more as phenomena rather than merely representatives of the musician profession.” Dace Volfa, writing about Sigma's third album “Ostinācijas”, emphasized: “These three musicians are increasingly freely swimming in the lake of sound and poetry they have invented themselves, causing those standing aside to wonder how it is even possible.”