On March 1 at 18:00 in Riga, at the Small Guild, there will be a chamber music concert featuring violinist Dainis Medjāniks and pianist Aurelia Šimkus.
The audience can expect a promising collaboration of magnificent young musicians who have prepared an exquisite candlelit program with a glass of original drink. The program includes carefully selected works for joint performances, as well as solo pieces. The composers of the evening are Franz Schubert, Johann Sebastian Bach, Béla Bartók, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, and Edvard Grieg.
Dainis Medjāniks is a violinist from Germany, born in Latvia. He began studying the violin at the age of 7 with teacher Galina Akulič and his parents, both violinists, and then continued his education at the Jūrmala Music Secondary School and the Emīls Dārziņš Music School.
In 2017, Dainis began pursuing higher musical education - first in Germany at the Hanover University of Music, then at the University of Arts in Graz (Austria), followed by the Munich Conservatory and the Berlin University of the Arts. Since October 2023, he has been working as a concertmaster at the "Osnabrücker Symphonieorchester."
Since his youth, Dainis has constantly participated in competitions and has toured extensively, being a scholarship holder of several foundations. In 2009, he won the grand prize at the "Rising Stars" competition in Riga and was invited to participate in the "Copenhagen Summer Festival 2009." In 2015, the musician gained international attention by becoming a laureate of the 54th International Violin Competition "Premio Paganini" in Genoa (Italy). In 2023, Dainis performed with his piano trio at "Izumi Hall" in Osaka (Japan).
Dainis Medjāniks has performed as a soloist with renowned orchestras such as the "Kammerorchester des Niedersächsischen Staatsorchesters Hannover," "Orchestra della Fondazione Teatro Carlo Felice de Genova," "Sinfonieorchester Kusel," "European Union Youth Orchestra," and the symphony orchestra of the Latvian National Opera.
The talented young violinist has worked with world-renowned performing professors - tenor Petru Munteanu, violinists Vladimir Klochkо, Felix Andreevsky, Marina Kesselman, Maurizio Fuks, Zakhar Bron, Krzysztof Wegrzyn, Silvia Markovich, Günther Pichler, Eberhard Feltz, as well as guitarist Peter Back, pianist Dirk Mommer, and the "Artemis Quartet."
Despite his young age, Dainis Medjāniks has an extensive concert geography - he has performed in Indonesia, China, Korea, Japan, the USA, Spain, the UK, France, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Germany, and more.
Dainis plays on a violin by master Vlado Tilev, whose instruments have gained wide international recognition in recent years. Musicians from such renowned ensembles as the "Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam," the "Bayerische Staatsoper," and others play on Tilev's violins.
Aurelia Šimkus began honing her piano skills at the Emīls Dārziņš Music School in Riga under the guidance of Professor Sergey Osokin. In 2017, she continued her studies at the Cologne University of Music and Dance with Claudio Martinez-Mehner, then in Sweden with Professor Julia Mustonen-Dahlkvist, as well as in Italy with Maestro Ingrid Flitter and in Hanover with Professor Arie Vardi.
Since 2016, Aurelia has actively developed her career by participating in various projects, resulting in her receiving the prestigious German music award "Echo Klassik" in the category of "Best Young Artist of the Year," and she was awarded scholarships from the "Orpheum Stiftung" (Zurich) and the "Mozart-Gesellschaft Dortmund." The talented pianist has performed as a soloist with the "English Chamber Orchestra," the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, the "Sinfonietta Riga," the German State Philharmonic Orchestra, and philharmonic orchestras from Kaunas, Warsaw, Dortmund, and others.
Aurelia Šimkus has participated in many festivals, such as "Interlaken Classics," "Next Generation," "Festival Puplinge Classique," "Kissinger Sommer," "Kurt Weill Festival," "Schumann Festival," and others. The performer has played in the most prestigious halls in Europe - "Tonhalle Zürich," "Konzerthaus Dortmund," "Stadthalle Bayreuth," "Rheingoldhalle Mainz," and many more.
In 2024, Aurelia was nominated for the Latvian "Great Music Prize" in the category of "Concert of the Year" for her joint concert with violinist Elīna Bukša at the opening of the "Winterfest" festival in Riga.
The concert of Dainis Medjāniks and Aurelia Šimkus is part of the artistic program of the "Rising Stars" competition, which will take place for the 16th time in Riga under the patronage of the renowned violinist and musicologist Mikhail Kazinik.
