Kalnins / Ostrovskis,toms

Alfreds Kalnins: Moments Musicaux Kalnins / Ostrovskis,toms

The album features 4 lyrical piano cycles by Kalnins who has written over 900 pieces during his lifetime: 7 morceaux (1913-1915); 7 poemes (1917); 4 Capriccietti (1946-1949) and 3 Small Pieces for the Album 'For the Youth' (1949). This album is dedicated to the Centenary of Latvian state. Alfreds Kalnins (1879-1951) was born and educated in Cesis, Riga and Saint Petersburg, he worked at the St. Nicholas Church in P rnu (1903-1911) and the St. Anna Church in Liepaja (1911-1915), spent the war in Tartu (1915-1918), and then resided in Riga (1919-1927), working as the Arts Department Director of the Ministry of Education and acting as the chief conductor of the 6th National Song and Dance Festival (1926). He spent six years in New York as a choir conductor, freelance musician and teacher, returning to Riga in 1933 as a composer and organist and serving as the rector of the Latvian National Conservatory from 1944 to 1948. Toms Ostrovskis graduated Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music (JVLMA) in 2002 and continued his studies on full scholarship at Guildhall School of Music and Drama under Ronan O'Hora, where he obtained Master of Music in Performance Degree and an Advanced Instrumental Studies Diploma; from 2005 to 2007 he was a fellowship student and worked on his doctoral thesis, analysing advanced methods of piano teaching. He has appeared with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Bucharest Radio Orchestra, Sidcup Symphony Orchestra, St. John's Chamber Orchestra, and other collectives. He was a finalist of European Broadcasting Union Radio Competition 'New Talent' (Bucharest) and Guildhall Gold Medal Competition (London), prizewinner of International Jazeps Vitols Piano Competition (Latvia), recipient of Myra Hess Awards and Yamaha - Kemble UK Scholarship Award. Since 2007 Toms Ostrovskis has been a member of the Piano Department of JVLMA. He has lead masterclasses in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Great Britain and other countries, and frequently participates in various solo and chamber music projects in Latvia and abroad. Since 2018 he is the Head of Performing Arts Department at JVLMA. More from SKANI: LMIC060 The Three Osokins in Latvian Piano Music: Works by Vasks, Skulte, Zalitis, Ivanovs, Maskats