Ars Musica Festival 2026 — ARCTIC FEVER

PĒTERIS VASKS AT 80 | PEACE ON EARTH

To celebrate the 80th birthday of Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks, this special day concludes with voices and instruments coming together in a powerful plea for peace.

The music of Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks is deeply rooted in his country’s cultural heritage. It reflects a strong ecological awareness and evokes the lost paradise of a disappearing natural world. Drawing on a timeless tradition, his work blends the flowing melodies of folk dances with the quiet spirituality of slow, contemplative choral music.

Over the course of several decades, Vasks has built an impressive body of work, ranging from solo piano pieces and chamber music to symphonic and concertante works, with the voice often playing a central role. His clear, refined and understated musical language has made him one of the leading figures in Baltic music.

We celebrate his 80th birthday with a special day devoted to both instrumental and vocal music.

This third and final concert brings together the musical forces of the day. Voices and instruments meet around Vasks’ Christmas quartet Peace on Earth, an emblematic work expressing his profound longing for serenity and human fellowship. From Tõnu Kõrvits and Maria Kõrvits to Vasks, the programme unfolds a Baltic musical landscape where silence, nature and voice come together.

The concert concludes with Fruits of Silence, an invitation to listen to what emerges when the noise falls away. Silence may be the most beautiful music of all. Could peace, in turn, be the most beautiful fruit of silence?

Conductor

Maris Pajuste · Karlis Ostrovskis

Quatuor Amôn

• Aymeric De Villoutreys – violin
• Julien Poli – violin
• Eva Pusker – viola
• Anne-Gabrielle Lia-Aragnouet – cello

Collegium Balticum – including:

• Sara Di Costanzo – flute
• Gauvain De Morant – piano

Program

• Tõnu Kõrvits – Peegeldused tasasest maast
• Maria Kõrvits – Akvarell II
• Pēteris Vasks – String Quartet No. 3 « Christmas – Peace on Earth »
• Pēteris Vasks – Latvija
• Pēteris Vasks – Fruits of Silence

Tickets

• €8 / €6 / €1.25
• 3-concert pass: €20 / €14

This concert is part of the Ars Musica 2026 programme, themed Arctic Fever. From Iceland to the Baltic states, this edition explores the musical landscapes of a North where vast expanses of ice, water and forests resonate through contemporary creation. In Vasks’ work, this relationship with nature takes on a particular resonance: nature, at once refuge, memory and a fragile world, runs through his music as an essential presence.