In the 2026/27 season, the Latvian star organist Iveta Apkalna will take up an artistic residency with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO). The residency began with concerts on 8 October in Riga and on 10 October in Rēzekne, conducted by the French conductor Jean-Claude Casadesus.

The opening events centred on two major works for organ and orchestra: Camille Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3, the ‘Organ Symphony’, and Francis Poulenc’s Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani, in which Iveta Apkalna performed as soloist.

On 18 February 2027, Iveta Apkalna will also be presenting a chamber music evening with musicians from the LNSO in Riga. The programme features works by Tomaso Antonio Vitali, Pēteris Vasks, Maija Einfelde, Camille Saint-Saëns, Ilona Breģe and Harald Feller, and highlights the stylistic diversity of the organ.Another highlight of the residency will take place on 19 March 2027 at the Riga Congress Hall and on 20 March 2027 in Ventspils. Together with the LNSO, Iveta Apkalna will present a programme featuring Samuel Barber’s Toccata festiva and Aaron Copland’s Organ Symphony, conducted by Jean-Christophe Spinosi. The concert will be rounded off with Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man as well as Maurice Ravel’s La Valse and Boléro.

Through her residency, Iveta Apkalna – titular organist at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg since 2017 – is placing a special emphasis on the organ repertoire in symphonic and chamber music concert settings.