Zaļa ainava

Zala ainava (Green Landscape) is the final part of the cycle Die Jahreszeiten (The Seasons), a collection for piano with the pieces Rudens muzika (Autumn Music), Balta ainava (White Landscape) and Pavasara muzika (Spring Music). Nature in all its forms and the relation of man to nature play a major role in Peteris Vasks' music. The sound spectrum in Zala ainava ranges from soft pianissimo to eruptive chord clusters. Thus, acoustic images describing nature in summer are created within the listener. For the widely noticed world premiere of the entire cycle by the Latvian pianist Vestard Shimkus, Vasks composed an encore, Vasaras vakara muzika, which can also be performed alone - evocative music for a mild summer evening.