Vasks Cello Concerto, String Symphony "Voices",
Riga Philharmonic Orchestra, Jonas Aleksa (conductor), Conifer 75605 51271 2

David Denton:
"Through the days leading up to Latvia's cessation from the Soviet Union, Peteris Vasks was a leading artistic dissident, his music capturing the grief of an oppressed people. Now, independence achieved, he freely expresses the emotion in his dramatic, moving and often very beautiful Cello Concerto dedicated to David Geringas.

In five sections the works contrasts the light and darkness of life, with two fast and bitter Toccatas which recall evil and aggression, and ends with a passionate song of peace in an eloquent cantabile cello passage. If it owes a debt to Shostakovich, whom Vasks quotes, it is still a very personal work by one of the Baltic region's most important composers. That all the performers feel deeply about the piece is tangible, and Geringas is quite superb in his role of the oppressed voice, at timer crying in the wilderness.

Vasks' String Symphony, subtitled "Voices", is a very different work, written during the days of oppression. It is reminiscent of Penderecki 30 years ago, the final section, "Voices of Conscience", one of the most disturbing passages found in music of our time.

The playing of the Riga orchestra is fine, the recording quality warm and well balanced, and I unhesitatingly recommend this disc to you."

THE STRAD, February 1997