Nordic-Baltic Cooperation 2011, Riga

The 8th annual meeting of the Nordic-Baltic Cooperation took place from 14-15 April in Riga. The traditional assembly of the program directors and heads of music departments from five Nordic and three Baltic countries was hosted this time by Latvian Radio and conducted by LR Klasika’s program director, Gunda Vaivode.

The venue of the meeting, the imposing HQ of Latvian Radio, was located in Riga’s Old Town. The majestic Dome Church towering right there across the square. And spring in the air.
Remarkably, this year’s meeting was attended by the representatives of all eight member countries – Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
According to the surveys presented at the meeting, the dire economic straits that severely complicated different aspects of radio broadcasting in the last couple of years have started to gradually ease up and the situation appears becoming more stabile again.

In Latvia, LR Klasika, which valiantly fought for its survival for the past two years, recently celebrated its 15th anniversary – with a high-spirited concert, and the publication of a bulky book that contains the best of their interviews with various musicians and composers. For Danish Radio’s P2, major changes will occur in the coming fall, when their current programme in its entirety will be moved to a digital channel – whereas on the FM range, P2 will have to start sharing airtime with a general-interest programme.
Finland’s Yleisradio has focused on actively engaging younger listeners and consistently utilising the new social media. With noteworthy results, too: their Facebook account meant for classical-music lovers has become a truly busy network attracting numerous regular users.
More new perspectives for classical music, although of a more traditional kind, are also opened up by brand-new concert halls – Helsinki’s Musiikkitalo will be inaugurated towards the end of August; Reykjavik’s Harpa will be operational in May.
In Lithuania, LRT’s Klasika channel managed to return to its full-sized (pre-crisis) schedule and restart the morning program that had been taken off air last year.

In Sweden, where the Spotify music-streaming and file-sharing service is highly popular, radio still plays an important role in people’s lives. Last season’s great success for Swedish Radio’s P2 was their 12-hour non-stop of Chopin’s music, performed by 18 different pianists.
Untraditional new venues for live music, such as various offices and other working spaces, have been successfully introduced by Norwegian Radio.

The representatives of the Nordic and Baltic public broadcasters in Riga also programmed their joint series of radio concerts for the 2011-2012 season, and drew up the list of broadcasts for the forthcoming summer festivals. Among ongoing collaborations are also jazz broadcasts, which are offered also to other EBU members, and the special project devoted to the music of female composers that is scheduled for 8 March 2012.
In addition to the working meetings and discussions, the program directors and heads of music could enjoy the concert program of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, “Pearls of Russian Music”, and attend a ballet performance.

The aim of the Nordic-Baltic music cooperation is to introduce the participating countries’ musical arts, and culture in general, to each other. And on the other hand, to counterbalance the customary predominance of Middle European sounds and subjects in their music programming. The joint Nordic Baltic Concert Season, which was initiated in 1995, is broadcast both for the EBU members and the rest of the world. In 2013, the Nordic-Baltic Cooperation will celebrate its 20th anniversary.

Tiia Teder, Coordinator of the Nordic-Baltic Cooperation