Vanemuise Symphony: Carmina Burana

Vanemuise Symphony Orchestra Season Closing Concert: Carmina Burana

The Vanemuise Symphony Orchestra’s concert season ends with Carl Orff’s primal and powerful cantata Carmina Burana (1937), which is today one of the most frequently performed choral works. The title refers to a 13th-century manuscript found in a Bavarian monastery in Germany, from which Orff selected 24 poems when composing the work.

In addition to this, George Gershwin’s lively Piano Concerto in F major is performed by Latvian pianist Vestards Šimkus, featuring alternating Charleston rhythms and American blues moods.

New Estonian music is also included in the concert programme: the concert opens with an overture by Tõnis Kaumann.

Performers

Soloists: Pirjo Jonas, Karmen Puis, Mati Turi, Taavi Tampuu, Vestards Šimkus (piano, Latvia)
Conductor: Risto Joost
Vanemuise Opera Choir, Tartu University Chamber Choir, Kammerkoor Kolm Lindu, Tartu Boys’ Choir
Vanemuise Symphony Orchestra

O FORTUNA!

The core of May 2025’s busy concert month was definitely “Carmina Burana”. There was vulgarity, there was fate, there was love! There was spring!

The forces were led by the always charming Risto Joost. On stage with us were the Vanemuise Symphony Orchestra and Opera Choir, the Tartu University Chamber Choir, the Tartu Boys’ Choir, Pirjo Jonas, Karmen Puis, Mati Turi, and Taavi Tampuu. The piano concerto was performed by Vestards Šimkus.

With Kolm Lindu, we were able to say “Šis ir mūsu trešais koncerts Latvijā” (“This is our third concert in Latvia”), because in Latvia it was already our third concert. In Cēsis, we took a group photo with part of our Orff ensemble, and the landscape inspired the design of the album cover (#ecm #melodija, see gallery below).