The Board of Trustees of the Riga Jurmala Music Festival has announced its decision to suspend the Festival until 2021, citing the continuing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and Latvian government guidelines.
The Riga Jurmala Music Festival team will now focus on finalising next year’s programme, which is likely to include some of the artists scheduled to appear this Summer.
In the meantime, the Board has shared details of new initiatives developed by the Festival team:
- The Riga Jurmala Academy in collaboration with the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. This will now take place online, providing artistic development opportunities for young and talented musicians from the Baltics and abroad by pairing them with artists who have appeared or were scheduled to appear at the Riga Jurmala Musical Festival. Latvian cellist, Mischa Maisky, who took part in the 2019 Festival, has already confirmed his involvement.
- A televised tribute to Latvian conductor, Mariss Jansons, featuring the four orchestras he led as music director or chief conductor – the Oslo Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Royal Concertgebouw and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Zane Culkstena, CEO of Riga Jurmala Music Festival, said:
‘Even though cancelling the Festival’s second season has not been an easy decision, it is the right thing to do in these very unfortunate circumstances.
‘On behalf of the whole team, we once again pay our biggest respects to all of the wonderful orchestras, conductors and soloists who were committed to the Festival’s ambition – to become a truly extraordinary classical music destination in Northern Europe.
‘Nonetheless, we are keeping a forward-looking view and hope that our new initiatives – Online Music Academy and televised audio-visual tribute to Mariss Jansons – will only widen the number of our Festival’s friends and followers, who will join us next summer in Riga and Jurmala.’
Header photo: Riga Jurmala Music Festival CEO, Zane Culkstena
