Latvian Radio Choir

THE LATVIAN RADIO CHOIR (LRC) ranks among the top professional chamber choirs in Europe. Since 1992, LRC has two conductors: Sigvards Kļava, Music Director and Principal Conductor; and Kaspars Putniņš.

The LRC could be described as a sound laboratory: the singers explore and hone their skills by turning to the mysteries of traditional singing, as well as to the art of quartertone and overtone singing and other sound production techniques. In so doing, the choir has established a new understanding of the possibilities of a human voice. One could also say that the choir is the creator of a new choral paradigm: every singer is a distinct individual with his or her own vocal signature and roles in performances. The expertise of singers has made LRC a remarkably flexible ensemble, one that is able to deal with vocal and instrumental music as well as with opera performances, multi-media projects, intimate a capella talks, and theatrical shows where singers can express themselves as both soloists and talented actors.

The repertoire of LRC ranges from Renaissance music to the most sophisticated scores by modern composers.

The choir has participated in the top international musical forums in Salzburg and Mont-pellier, the Baltic Sea Festival, Klangspuren Festival, La Musica, Ultima, the Venice Biennale, White Light Festival USA, Soundstreams in Canada. It has performed in such renowned venues as the Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, Konzerthaus in Berlin, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Lincoln Center in New York and Dresden Frauenkirche. LRC has successfully worked with many outstanding guest conductors, including Riccardo Muti, Heinz Holliger, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Stephen Layton, Tõnu Kaljuste, James Wood, and Essa-Pekka Salonen.

Every season, three or four new CDs appear on such labels as Hyperion Records, BIS, GB Records, Ondine, and Naïve. Released on the ECM label, the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s opus Adam’s Lament received the prestigious Grammy Award in 2014 for ‘’Best choral performance.’’ LRC collaborated on this recording with the chamber orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga, the ensemble Vox Clamantis, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, all under the baton of Tõnu Kaljuste. Among the most valued recordings by LRC is Sergey Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil, praised by Gramophone and American radio NPR, Elīna Garanča, released by Deutsche Grammophon in 2014, and Valentin Silvestrov, nominated for the 2016 Gramophone Classical Music Awards.

The choir has been awarded the most esteemed musical prizes; the Latvian Music Grand Prix, nine times and the Award of the Cabinet of Ministers in 2014 for the outstanding contribution in Latvian music and achievements on the international stage.