On August 25 and 26, 2021 masterclasses of Matti Raekallio, distinguished pianist and professor of the Juilliard School (New York, USA) and Sibelius Academy (Helsinki, Finland) took place at the Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music.
For two days Professor Raekallio worked with eight young artists from the Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Jazeps Medins Riga Secondary Music School and Emils Darzins Music School. In the masterclass programme the best opuses were performed from Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev and Scriabin.
Professor Raekallio serves as an adjudicator and teaches masterclasses in the most prestigious summer courses of the U.S., Europe, and Asia. This was professor’s first visit to Latvia.
It was a great pleasure to visit Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music and to work with excellent musicians. Latvia is known as a “land of talents,”
commented prof. Raekallio. He appreciated the high level of Baltic countries’ pianists and complimented the Great Hall of the JVLMA, as uniquely suited for piano recitals.
“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to play for such a fantastic professor. I gained a lot of inspiration and ideas. To learn from such high class musician is a great experience,” comments the 3rd year student Ērika Jākobsone (prof. S. Osokins class). The 4th year student Hailong Zhang (assoc. prof. T. Ostrovskis class) notes that “Prof. Raekallio expresses his musical ideas in the most direct and efficient way, thereby making the masterclass very productive and inspirational.”
The masterclasses of Matti Raekallio at JVLMA were supported by the Erasmus+ programme.
