Biography

Vasks was born in Aizpute, Latvia, into the family of a Baptist pastor. He trained as a violinist at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, as a double-bass player with Vitautas Sereikaan at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, and played in several Latvian orchestras before entering the State Conservatory in Vilnius in the neighboring Lithuania to study composition with Valentin Utkin, as he was prevented from doing this in Latvia due to Soviet repressive policy toward Baptists. He started to become known outside Latvia in the 1990s, when Gidon Kremer started championing his works, and he now is one of the most influential and praised European contemporary composers.\n

Vasks' early style owed much to the aleatoric experiments of Witold Lutosławski, Krzysztof Penderecki and George Crumb. Later works included elements of Latvian folk music, such as his gentle and pastoral cor anglais concerto (1989). His works are generally extremely clear and communicative, with a solid and muscular sense of harmony. Lyrical passages may be followed by agitated dissonances, or interrupted by sombre sections with a march-like feel. He made extensive use of minimalist techniques as well, but never became attached to any particular method.\n

Vasks feels strongly about environmental issues, and a sense of nature both pristine and destroyed can be found in many of his works, such as the String Quartet No. 2 (1984). Other important works include Cantabile (1979) and Musica dolorosa (1984) and \"Bass Trip\" (2003) for solo double bass. He has written six string quartets, the fourth (1999) and fifth (2004) of which were written for the Kronos Quartet.\n

Vasks was the recipient of the Vienna Herder Prize of the Alfred Toepfer Foundation in 1996, as well as the Baltic Assembly Prize for Literature, the Arts and Science, and the Latvian Grand Music Award in 1997, the latter for his first violin concerto Tālā gaismā (\"Distant Light\") (1996–97). He received the Cannes Classical Awards in 2004. His important works also include \"Viatore\", Symphony No. 2 and \"Music for a deceased Friend\".\n

Since 1994, he has been an honorary member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences and in 2001 he became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. In 1996, he was the main composer at the Stockholm New Music Festival and in 2006 composer-in-residence at the Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts and the Vale of Glamorgan Festival in Wales.\n

In 2005, he received the Estonian honour the Order of the White Star, 3rd Class. Vasks was awarded the 2026 Robert Schumann Prize for Poetry and Music.\n

Works

The following is a list of works by Vasks:\n

Symphonies

Symphony No. 1: Balsis (\"Voices\") (1991), for string orchestra
Symphony No. 2 (1998)
Symphony No. 3 (2005)

Other orchestral works

Cantabile per archi (1979), for string orchestra
Vēstījums (\"The Message\") (1982), for orchestra with percussion and two pianos
Musica dolorosa (1983), for string orchestra
Lauda (1986), for orchestra
Musica adventus (1996), for string orchestra
Adagio (1996), for string orchestra
Viatore (2001), for string orchestra (also for organ (2001))
Musica appassionata (2002), for string orchestra
Symphonic elegy Sala (\"Island\") (2006), for orchestra
Credo (2009), for orchestra
Epifānija (\"Epiphany\") (2010), for string orchestra
Musica serena (2015), for string orchestra

Orchestra with instrumental soloists

Violin Concerto No. 1 Tālā gaismā (\"Distant Light\") (1997), for violin and strings
Violin Concerto No. 2 Vakara gaismā (\"Evening Light\") (2020), for violin and strings
Viola Concerto (2015), for viola and strings
Cello Concerto No. 1 (1994)
Cello Concerto No. 2 Klātbūtne (\"Presence\") (2012), for cello and strings
Flute Concerto (2008)
Oboe Concerto (2018)
Concerto for cor anglais and orchestra (1989)

Meditation Vientuļais eņģelis (\"Lonely Angel\") (1999), for violin and strings
Fantasia Vox Amoris (2009), for violin and strings

Chamber music

\n\n

Solo instrumental

\n\n

Choral

Unaccompanied choir:\n

\n\n

Accompanied choir:\n

\n\n

References

\n\n

External links

Profile at Schott Music website
Latvian Web Page on Vasks in English
Ondine Records: Peteris Vasks
orfile on Music.lv website
Liner notes for Pater Noster performed by Latvian Radio Choir
\"Peteris Vasks: Composer and Sinfonietta Riga deplore destruction\" Kokafi article
Composer Profile/Works at Schott Music (English version)
CD Recording of String Quartets 1–5

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Pēteris Vasks

Broadcast History