Baltic Souls

In more than thirty concert halls from Amsterdam to Strasbourg: pianist Marcel Worms, violinist Ursula Schoch and author Jan Brokken have presented their lecture-concert Baltic Souls, inspired by Baltische zielen, lotgevallen in Estland, Letland en Litouwen (Baltic Souls, fifteen families in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.). In that book, Jan Brokken describes the history of the three Baltic countries by chronicling fifteen families who flourished within the last 150 years. Families including such remarkable talents as the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, the Latvian violinist Gidon Kremer, father and son Eisenstein from Riga, writer Romain Gary from Vilnius, Lithuanian sculptor Jacques Lipchitz, painter Mark Rothko from Daugavpils, the philosopher Hannah Arendt from Königsberg, the Lithuanian composer Jurgis Gai_auskas, but also far less well-known or forgotten families like that of the bookseller Jânis Roze in Riga or the barons Von Wrangel from Estonia. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are truly "music lands". They have long singing and choir traditions. In Riga, Vilnius and Tartu, enormous choir festivals are held. Everyone seems to sing in the Baltic countries, whether it be traditional, classical or popular music. But it is no coincidence that also many famous violinists and cellists like Jascha Heifetz, Gidon Kremer, Philippe Hirschhorn and Mischa Maisky come from Riga, Tallinn or Vilnius, as well as great conductors like Neeme Järvi and Mariss Jansons. Considering the size of the lands and their modest populations, it is almost unbelievable how many internationally known composers Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have produced. The Baltic lands were for many centuries occupied or ruled by foreign powers. Music was for a long time the only permissible form of national expression for the Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians. Only in their music could they be themselves.