Gundaris Pone: Portraits (CD) - CD

Details: World premiere recordings of orchestral works by American-Latvian composer Gundaris Pone (1932-1994) performed by Liepaja Symphony Orchestra and conductors Guntis Kuzma and Normunds Sne. There are composers of local significance, and there are composers with global breadth - Gundaris Pone is one of the latter. He is undoubtedly among the most interesting and important figures in Latvian music, a man who must not remain only in history. When we connect Pone with the reality of the present day, we find that his work sounds fresh, topical and relevant. Although he spent most of his life in the United States and Venice, we nevertheless refer to "Latvian music" because Pone himself believed that Latvia was the true place for his scores. Pone considered himself a European and once stated in an interview with Aija Vanka on Latvian Radio: "I realised that one of the ways for me, a non-American (although I have been an American citizen for many years), to move up in life was to compete with other composers. I've been awarded first prizes in international competitions since the late 1970s. In 1981, I won in Trieste with La Serenissima; the same work won the Louisville Orchestra New Music Competition in 1983 and also won the Whitney Prize. In 1982, Avanti! Was named the best American orchestral work, and I received the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award. I've also won the George Enescu Prize, the International Hambach Prize Competition (with my composition Di gran maniera, which was beautifully performed in Riga by the distinguished violinist Valdis Zarins) and two others. "