T10.A6. ADDA·SIMFÒNICA/VICENT/BALANAS “Night at the movies”

To describe Kristīne Balanas, one must dig deep into the box of adjectives. Street musician, rock singer, and violinist of impressive technical mastery: her performance is dramatic, passionate, sometimes unrestrained, but always controlled. An artist before whom one must bow down. (Tiroler Tageszeitung, 25 de enero de 2025, Wolfgang Otter)

Highly sought after for her "wild, bold, and dramatic" interpretation (The Strad), Kristīne's surprising transformation—from being a street musician and rock singer in Latvia to becoming an internationally acclaimed classical soloist—has no precedent.

Although she came from a family of people unconnected to music, Kristīne, like her siblings Margarita and Roberts, dedicated her entire life to music and carved her path as a renowned international professional soloist.

The contrast between the freedom to create and perform in unconventional settings and the disciplined atmosphere of Europe's leading music academies profoundly shaped her artistic identity.

Kristīne graduated with honours from the Royal Academy of Music, where she studied with György Pauk, and continued her training at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler with Kolja Blacher.

Kristīne Balanas collaborates with international orchestras, including the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the WDR Symphony Orchestra, the Paris Chamber Orchestra (conducting from the violin), the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, the Latvian National Orchestra, the George Enescu Philharmonic, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, among others.

She performs with conductors such as Jukka-Pekka Saraste, James Gaffigan, Tarmo Peltokoski, Trevor Pinnock, Gergely Madaras, Andris Poga, Margarita Balanas, Ainārs Rubiķis and Josep Vicent.

Kristīne has performed at festivals and concert halls such as L'Auditori de Barcelona, the Royal Albert Hall, the Dresdner Musikfestspiele, the Moritzburg Festival, the Radio France Occitanie Festival of Montpellier, Fjord Classics, the Philharmonie Merck, the Risør Chamber Music Festival, and the Montserrat International Chamber Music Week.

Kristīne Balanas has won numerous awards, including the Young Artist of the Year 2018 at the Grand Music Awards in her home country, the Excellence Foundation Young Talent Award granted by Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain, and third prize at the 66th ARD International Music Competition.

Kristīne plays an Antonio Gragnani violin from 1787, which has been kindly lent to her by "The Little Butterfly Foundation".