Kremerata Baltica
With his career reaching the greatest heights of international acclaim, violinist Gidon Kremer (born in 1947 in Riga, Latvia) was anxious to establish connections with the aspiring younger musicians of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and to share his rich artistic experience with them. In line with this conception, he created the chamber music collective known as the Kremerata Baltica in 1997; it is an ensemble identified with Kremer's eclectic and restless exploration of unusual repertory, as well as with fresh interpretations of standard works. Kremer's initiative has stimulated the independent musical life of the Baltic states, loosening the shackles that dire economic straits have placed on the arts.
The name Kremerata Baltica is a pun combining the violinist's name with the old designation of a chamber ensemble as a "Camerata"; the group sometimes adopts the unusual capitalization KREMERata BALTICA in printed materials. The Kremerata at first consisted of only 23 string musicians and performed its debut program to the audiences of Kremer's native Riga in February of 1997, on the occasion of his 50th birthday. In addition to works by Felix Mendelssohn and Franz Schubert, the orchestra played the music of Baltic composers Erkki-Sven Tüür (Estonia), Peteris Vasks (Latvia), and Feliksas Bajoras (Lithuania). The program additionally featured Sutartines, a work that echoes the tragic events of January 1991 in Lithuania by Kremer's longtime friend Alfred Schnittke. Professor Saulius Sondeckis, the well-known conductor and artistic director of the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, also conducted the Kremerata Baltica.
In the summer of 1997, the Kremerata Baltica played the Kremer-led Gstaad Festival (Switzerland), the Lockenhaus Festival (Austria), and the Salzburg Festival. The Kremerata began hosting its own festival in Sigulda, Latvia, in 2003. The Kremerata Baltica has toured extensively, visiting more than 600 cities across 50 different countries. On these tours, it has had several well-regarded guest conductors, such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Christoph Eschenbach, and Kent Nagano, among others. It has also performed with many world-class soloists, including Jessye Norman, Evgeny Kissin, and Yo-Yo Ma.
As the 20th century neared its end, the Kremerata Baltica experienced considerable commercial success with recordings of music by the "holy minimalist" composer Arvo Pärt and by the tango-classical fusionist Astor Piazzolla. The Kremerata has recorded for several labels, including ECM, Profil, and Nonesuch. It earned an ECHO Klassik award in 2016 for its recording of Shostakovich's piano concertos with soloist Anna Vinnitskaya. In 2019, Kremer and the Kremerata Baltica joined with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla on the Deutsche Grammophon album Weinberg: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 21, which won a Grammy Award the following year. Owing to travel restrictions during the 2020 coronavirus lockdowns, the members of the Kremerata were unable to meet since so many members lived in different countries. Members living in Latvia gathered together to perform throughout Latvia and Estonia, while members living in Lithuania did the same in that country, giving rise to the offshoot ensembles, Kremerata Lettonica and Kremerata Lithuanica. The full Kremerata Baltica returned in 2021 with the Sony Classical album Zal: The Music of Miłosz Magin, exploring the music of that little-known composer and teacher. The following year, it issued PPP on the Skani label, featuring the works of Pēteris Plakidis, Kristaps Pētersons, and Georgs Pelēcis.
© TiVo Staff /TiVo
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Songs of Fate
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica, Vida Miknevičiūtė
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on 19 Jan 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Weinberg : Symphonies Nos. 2 & 21
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Gidon Kremer, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 3 May 2019
Gramophone: Recording of the Month24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Anna Vinnitskaya, Kremerata Baltica, Omer Meir Wellber, Winds of Staatskapelle Dresden
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 23 Jun 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
New Seasons (Glass, Pärt, Kancheli, Umebayashi)
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 29 May 2015
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Focus Cello
Pablo Ferrández, Benedict Kloeckner, Anastasia Kobekina, Edgar Moreau, Kremerata Baltica, Heinrich Schiff
Classical - Released by Profil on 20 Oct 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Giya Kancheli: Chiaroscuro
Gidon Kremer, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Kremerata Baltica
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on 2 Oct 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Searching for Ludwig (Beethoven, Sollima, Ferré)
Mario Brunello, Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 23 Oct 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
ppp
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica
Classical - Released by SKANI on 17 Jun 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Silencio
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica
Classical - Released by Nonesuch on 13 Sep 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
De Profundis
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica
Classical - Released by Nonesuch on 10 Sep 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Eight Seasons: Astor Piazzolla - Four Seasons of Buenos Aires; Vivaldi - Four Seasons
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica
Classical - Released by Nonesuch on 29 Feb 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Weinberg : Violin Sonatas, Concertino, Symphony no.10... (Live In Lockenhaus & Neuhardenberg / 2012 & 2013)
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica
Classical - Released by ECM Records on 28 Jan 2014
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vasks: Distant Light & Voices
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Dec 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: The Complete Violin Concertos
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica
Classical - Released by Nonesuch on 17 Jul 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Songs of Fate
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica, Vida Miknevičiūtė
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on 19 Jan 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
After Mozart
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica
Classical - Released by Nonesuch on 16 Oct 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hymns and Prayers: Tickmayer, Franck, Kancheli
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on 27 Aug 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Art of Instrumentation : Homage to Glenn Gould
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica
Classical - Released by Nonesuch on 21 Sep 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Astor Piazzolla: El Tango
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica
Classical - Released by Nonesuch on 19 Aug 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: String Quartet G Major
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on 29 Aug 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Happy Birthday
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica
Classical - Released by Rhino - Warner Records on 1 Jan 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo