The dynamo Latvian violin and cello sister duo are bringing a thrilling program of Baroque masters (Vivaldi’s Four Seasons), French impressionists and contemporary minimalists to Canberra as they make their much anticipated Australian debut.
https://snowconcerthall.com/the-balanas-sisters/
Hailing from Latvia, Kristīne and Margarita Balanas have carved out a reputation as two of the most exciting artists of their generation. Combined and individually they have taken Europe by storm, with their biographies already boasting performances with countless first rate orchestras, and appearances in many of Europe’s greatest halls.
Bringing a thrilling program of Baroque masters, French Impressionists and contemporary minimalists, they make their much anticipated Australian debut performing Vivaldi Four Seasons (arr.), Vasks and Ravel, as well Norwegian composer Halvorsen’s mesmerisingly virtuosic take on Handel’s Passacaglia.
Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks’s Castillo Interior was composed in remembrance of the mystic St Teresa of Avila, a mythologised 16th-century nun who documented her own ecstatic mystical experiences in her autobiography, The Life of Teresa of Jesus, as well as her books, The Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection. A meditative piece commemorating a rare 16th-century woman, published and therefore remembered by history.
Vasks’ deeply reflective and spiritual work is paired with Ravel’s rich, impressionistic violin and cello sonata, written by the French composer between 1920 and 1922 in memory of another French great, Claude Debussy.
Light and storm from the Balanas Sisters’ ingenious arrangements of Vivaldi’s beloved The Four Seasons, as well as the Balanas’ thrilling take on the Halvorsen-arranged Handel Passacaglia rounds this program out into what promises to be a real highlight of Snow Concert Hall’s 2025 season.