East meets west at Gandhi 150th birth anniversary celebrations
The Nelum Pokuna theatre was the venue for a splendid east meets west musical extravaganza last week when the Liepajas symphony orchestra from Latvia was hosted alongside Dr. L. Subramaniam, the legendary violinist.
The glittering evening was held to mark the start of the launch of the uber-luxury apartments ‘Sapphire Residences’ by ITC Hotels while also coinciding with the commencement of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi.
The event was supported by the High Commission of India, Colombo, in association with the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival.
Dr. Subramaniam is India’s violin icon and has previously played with the New York Philharmonic, London Philharmonic and the Swiss Romande Orchestra among others. He is founder and director of the Lakshminarayana festival and has a strong bond with Sri Lanka. His father, a great violinist himself, was once based in Sri Lanka while Dr. Subramaniam spent his early childhood in the island.
The Liepajas orchestra, with over 60 musicians, was the largest ever to perform in Sri Lanka. It is also the oldest orchestra in the Baltic States. Led by its art Director and chief conductor Gintaras Rinkevicius, the orchestra blended seamlessly with Dr. Subramaniam’s music.