15. February, 2026
On 15th of February at 6:00 PM, the first concert in the cycle “Conversations with Music” – “The Familiar and the Surprising” – will take place in the White Hall of the Rundāle Palace Museum.
The concert date has been symbolically chosen to mark the birthday of Duke Peter. On this day, the restored exhibition of the Duke’s library will also be unveiled, and concert guests will have the opportunity to visit it. The central highlight of the exhibition will be the museum’s newest acquisition – more than sixty books from Duke Peter’s former library, displayed in the original oak bookcase. Some of these books were once removed from Jelgava Palace and stored at Żagań Palace in Silesia, later becoming part of the inheritance of the Courland princesses Catherine Wilhelmine and Pauline. These volumes have now returned to the Rundāle Palace Museum and will be available for public viewing.
The concert programme is dedicated to the principle of harmonic contrasts characteristic of Baroque art, vividly reflected in the works of the Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi. Alongside world-famous compositions, the programme will also feature works that were forgotten for centuries and rediscovered only in the 20th century.
The concert will feature an ensemble of four outstanding musicians: Lāsma Meldere-Šestakova (Baroque violin), Dace Priedīte (solo kokle), Anda Eglīte (bass kokle), and Artūrs Noviks (accordion, bandoneon).