"FREIBERGS & AZERS" - artists in residence at Concert hall "Cesis"
Percussion duo Guntars Freibergs & Juris Azers are the artists in residence for the 2024-25 season at one of the most important Latvian concert venues - Concert hall “Cesis”.
Residency will offer to see percussion in many different forms and contexts and will bring to “Cesis” world renowned musicians as conductor Vladimir Jurowski and Ensemble UnitedBerlin, pianists Arthur & Lucas Jussen, composers Dobrinka Tabakova and Janis Petraskevics, Normunds Sne and chamber orchestra “Sinfonietta Riga” and many others.
Credits: Arturs Kondrats
J.S. Bach
Chaconne in D Minor, BWV 1004
Debut solo release
JURIS AZERS marimba
Costa Records 2022
Supported by Neu Start Kultur
Credits: Arturs Kondrats
Juris Azers & Guntars Freibergs
The Latvian percussionists Juris Azers and Guntars Freibergs perform together since 2016. They have created a duo ensemble, focusing on original chamber music programs and promoting newly written music for percussions. The duo owns challenging virtuosity, subtly curated programs and dexterous skill of ensemble. Their concert Texture of Groove, dedicated to Alejandro Viñao and performed at the Contemporary Music Festival Arena (Riga), was noticed and nominated for the Grand Music Award 2018, the highest music award in Latvia, for Outstanding Ensemble Work. They have participated at the open-air Classical Music Festival Sansusi (Akniste, Latvia) and the Modern Music Festival deciBels (Riga), playing newly written works by Latvian composers.
Credits: Arturs Kondrats
BARTÓK: WORKS FOR SOLO PIANO, SONATA FOR TWO PIANOS & PERCUSSIONS
CHENG ZHANG piano
TOMOKI KITAMURA piano II
JURIS AZERS percussion
WEIQI BAI percussion
Credits: Patrice Schreyer
United Berlin
Since 2016 Juris Azers is a member of the ensemble unitedberlin. It was founded in Berlin in 1989. In a symbolic way, the ensemble connected the music and musicians in the long-divided city. Unitedberlin builds bridges across the avant-garde composers and listeners. Led by the internationally acclaimed conductor Vladimir Jurowski it is the ensemble-in-residence at the Berlin Konzerthaus. Ensemble unitedberlin performs regularly at international contemporary music festivals.
Credits: Mathias Bothor