What is GADALAIKI?
Gadalaiki (“The Seasons”) is a piano cycle by the Latvian contemporary composer Pēteris Vasks, which musically depicts the transformations of nature throughout the year while also expressing them as a meditation on human life. The work follows the four seasons and, through contrasting moods, colors, and dynamics, conveys the relationship between nature, time, and the human spiritual experience. Vasks’s music is not only contemporary in terms of its time (the composer celebrates his 80th birthday this year), but above all in its relevance and originality. We live in a hectic age and increasingly fall into stress; Vasks’s music invites us to pause, listen, relax, and perhaps reflect on the meaning of our existence. The composer himself says about his music:
“I am deeply rooted in nature, in Nordic nature. For me, as a Latvian, a Baltic person, nature is constantly present. And it influences all of my music. Nature as we know it changes according to four very different seasons. Winter is too long, summer is short, but all the more beautiful and eagerly awaited. The seasons in between are quite dramatic. Nature is an ideal world as created by God. Its beauty will survive everything, if people—who have senselessly begun to compete with its power—respect it and take care of it. My passion for the life of nature is now even more intense.” — Pēteris Vasks
The piano cycle Gadalaiki will be recorded and released in October 2026 on CD and LP as a Czech premiere by the Animal Music label. Although Vasks’s music is well established worldwide and the composer himself is highly respected, Nordic music remains relatively unknown here. Gadalaiki stands on its own and does not belong to any specific genre. It is a powerful, mystical story for one instrument, one performer, and thousands of listeners. For several years, it has been my great dream to record this music, and I am incredibly happy that it is now happening. Help us bring this beautiful project to completion.
This is my third recording project over the past six years under the Animal Music label. Here are links to the previous two, created in collaboration with cellist Jiří Bárta.
https://animalmusic.cz/album/terezie-fialova-jiri-barta-beethoven-sonatas-piano-cello-0
https://animalmusic.cz/album/jiri-barta-terezie-fialova-janacek
My name is Terezie Fialová (www.tereziefialova.cz), and I am a classical pianist. Since early childhood, I have been performing in the Czech Republic and abroad (festivals such as Prague Spring, Dvořák Prague, Kutná Hora International Music Festival, Smetana’s Litomyšl, etc.). Music is my life, and creating new and original projects has become increasingly meaningful to me.
The Gadalaiki project has been in preparation for over two years in collaboration with Petr Ostrouchov and the Animal Music label. The recording took place in March of this year in the Bohuslav Martinů Hall at the Music and Dance Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, on a beautiful Steinway concert grand piano. I would like to thank HAMU for making the recording possible, the sound engineers and directors, as well as Jan Dufek, the author of the introductory video, and the photographers: J. Dufek, J. Bárta, M. Perný, and M. Kadula.
The design of the Gadalaiki CD and LP will once again be created by the excellent graphic studio Najbrt.
The release of the Gadalaiki CD and LP is supported by the Embassy of Latvia in Prague.
Although we have managed to secure a large part of the funding outside of this campaign, we now need your support. The funds raised will be used to cover all costs associated with releasing the LP (a double LP, as the duration of the music is 55 minutes—design, pressing, etc.), as well as fees for the sound engineers, the authors of the booklet texts (in Czech, English, and Latvian), and the project’s PR.
