Latvia will be the main country focus
of the folkBALTICA festival in 2010
From 21 to 15 April 2010 the folkBALTICA festival once again invites you to an exciting musical firework display of modern folk music from around the Baltic Sea. This year’s country focus will be on Latvia, and will once again confirm the reputation of folkBALTICA as the cultural event with an eye for something special. The unusual programme consists of over 40 events at 30 different locations in the north of Schleswig-Holstein and the Danish Sønderjylland region, and in its sixth year it will continue to live up to its reputation for innovative surprises and musical discoveries.
- Laime Jansone, Kokles
Virtually unknown here, the artists from the Latvia will be performing undreamed of sounds: for example the absolutely fascinating Latvian vocal harmonies of the Trio Smite Karkle, Cinkuss, who already received rave audience reviews at the 2009 folkBALTICA. The best way to describe the group Auli, with 5 bagpipes and three percussionists is ‘raw elemental force’, and the funky folk-jazz from the group Patina is simply wicked. If you’re into world music then you will welcome the crossover between ‘Owls’ and the Geprgian group ‘The Shin’, winners of the 2009 Creole world music competition. With the old Baltic ‘kokles’, a zither type instrument, young virtuosos like Laima Jansone and multi-instrumentalist Valdis Muktupavels will be showing just how lively the Latvian folk scene is today.
- Trio Smite, Karkle, Cinkuss
A very special highlight will be the Nordic-Baltic Sun Concert in the Nikolaikirche for the opening of the main concerts in Flensburg on 23 April. In Latvia the sun has a cult significance. The Latvian sun myth will also feature strongly in exhibitions, cinema films and lectures, for which former Latvian president Veira Vike-Freiberga will also be coming to Flensburg, and thus be omnipresent throughout the German-Danish border region for the duration of folkBALTICA at least.
The focus of all festival activities will once again be the main stage at the Duborgskolen Forum on Flensburg’s western heights with its panoramic view over the Flensburg Fjord. This venue was first used at last year’s festival, and proved so successful that the organisers – and primarily Jens-Peter Müller, managing director and artistic director of the festival – have decided to use this excellent venue once again, so that while your eyes may wander across the Flensburg Fjord, your eyes will drink in music the from Latvia and elsewhere.
The highlights from other countries around the Baltic Sea include the Finnish-Swedish sextet ‘Frigg’, the Danish-Faroe band ‘Valravn’, the ‘Crane Dance Trio’ from Sweden, the Polish ethno-beat formation ‘Zywiolak’ and the award-winning German group ‘Deitsch’.
A large range of workshops completes the massive programme of over 40 events at 30 different venues between Husum and Eckernförde, Kappeln, Schleswig and Sønderborg.
Advanced ticket sales begin on 26. 2. 2010.