Who? you might ask. Well listen up because I have a revelation for you. This cd on Conifer 75605 512362 is a collection of Vasks' music. It has the four movement, 20 minute, cor anglais concerto and 4 smaller pieces including one called 'message' from which the cd gets its name. The booklet has a fascinating story about how the Latvian cultural exchange invited publishers from around europe to a festival of Latvian music. Bosney and Hawkes, who were responsible for publishing most soviet music did not attend so the conductor Krils Rusmanis was nominted spokesperson. This let to a series on the BBC which caught the ear of Conifer's John Kehoe who vowed to bring Latvian music to the world. When Rusmanis and Kohoe looked at the composers in the country Vasks stood out, hence this cd. The music itself was composed during a number of years during which Latvia was going through periods of trial and stress. Vasks has stated however that the political turmoil in his country did not influence the music and the listener is thus free to form their own interpretations of it. To me these pieces covey feelings of mystery. Yes one could hear tumoil, change and evolution here but this is expressed in a toned down way like in the march in Shostakovich's Leningrad first movement. Not that this music is otherwise similar to the Russian master's. There is extensive use of tubular bells on these works no not Mike Oldfield more Kancheli. I am also reminded of Delius and Ives (unanswered question) on occassions. This music is very approachable. In fact some might say too much so. That is, there are budding composers known to me whom I think might say that this is pop music. It's not of course but some of the string parts could easily be taken for a synthesiser sound. If you are used to dodgy recorded sound from eastern europe countries then you'll need to rethink after listening to this. It was recorded in Latvia but it's DDD and beautifully staged. The playing and conducting by the Riga Philhamonic / Kriss Rusmanis is world class. Proof positive that there are little know musicians out there who deserve more exposure. I enjoyed this imensely and I think the average listener will too. There's another CD of Vask's music which I have yet to listen to. This features his string symphony and cello concerto.It has the same orchestra but a different conductor (Jonas Aleksa). I can't wait. Music 5* Performance 5* Sound 5* (UK readers note they have this cd in the HMV sale at an amazing 2.99) Bob Draper [log in to unmask]