Latvian Organist Ilze Reine Releases Album of Maija Einfelde's Works
The Latvian label SKANi will release a new album titled "Maija Einfelde. Organ Music" in July 2026, featuring organist Ilze Reine performing compositions by Maija Einfelde. The album was recorded between 2025 and 2026 at Riga Cathedral on the historic Walcker organ (built 1883/1884), which has 124 stops, 4 manuals, and 6,718 pipes. The works span from 1987 to 1999, including pieces like "Ballade" (1987), "Three Nocturnes" (1988), "Crucifixus" (1989), "From Long Ago" (1992), "Ave Maria" (1994), "Three Songs of the Sea" (1994), and "Sanctus" (1999). Maija Einfelde (born 1939 in Valmiera, Latvia) is a prominent Latvian composer who faced non-recognition during the Soviet era; her music blends neoromanticism, impressionism, and expressionism. The album will be available on CD, streaming, and download.
Key facts
- SKANi label releases 'Maija Einfelde. Organ Music' in July 2026 (streaming) and September 2026 (CD).
- Ilze Reine performs on the Walcker organ at Riga Cathedral, built 1883/1884.
- Album includes 11 tracks composed between 1987 and 1999.
- Maija Einfelde was born in 1939 in Valmiera, Latvia, and studied at the Latvian Conservatory under Jānis Ivanovs.
- Einfelde's early works were suppressed during Soviet occupation; she was only admitted to the Composers' Union 30 years after graduation.
- The album features pieces like 'Ballade' (dedicated to victims of 1905), 'Crucifixus' (inspired by Mark 15:24), and 'Three Songs of the Sea' (dedicated to MS Estonia disaster).
- Ilze Reine is a versatile organist specializing in Baroque and Romantic music, and has performed across Europe.
- The Walcker organ was once the largest in Europe.
Entities
Artists
- Maija Einfelde
- Ilze Reine
- Jānis Ivanovs
- Mirdza Kūlmane
- Larisa Bulava
- Aigars Reinis
- Baiba Jaunslaviete
- Dace Aperāne
- Ausma Derkēvica
- Marta Čirkše-Ozoliņa
- Kārlis Skalbe
- Jolanta Barinska
- Jēkabs Reinis
- Pēteris Vasks
- Rihards Dubra
- Imants Zemzaris
- Aivars Kālejs
Institutions
- SKANi
- Riga Cathedral
- E. F. Walcker & Co.
- Alfrēds Kalniņš Music School in Cēsis
- Jāzeps Mediņš Music College in Riga
- Latvian Conservatory
- Emīls Dārziņš Music College
- Latvian Composers' Union
- Latvian Radio Choir
- State Academic Choir 'Latvija'
- Sinfonietta Rīga
- Bach d’Amour
- St. John's Church in Riga
- Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music
- Ventspils Music Secondary School
- Jāzeps Medīņš Music Secondary School in Riga
Locations
- Riga
- Latvia
- Valmiera
- Cēsis
- Riga Cathedral
- Baltic states
- France
- Germany
- Hungary
- Sweden
- Spain
- Israel
- United States