Baiba Skride starts her tour of Riga with us in the historic centre with its stunning art nouveau buildings and shows us how urban renewal has benefitted the city. Many of the buildings and squares we see are ones Baiba Skride associates with music, like the Gothic House of Blackheads (don't snigger!) where she has given many concerts. While she's out, Baiba Skride bumps into Latvian photographer Inta Ruka who has gained a reputation through her portraits. For years she's been working on a series entitled People Happen to Meet. Baiba Skride goes through town with her as she takes photos and hears about how much people in her native Latvia have changed. The island of Kipsala lies opposite the historic centre of Riga - once a poor neighbourhood it is now undergoing a construction boom. As a child, Baiba Skride was forbidden to go there on the grounds that it was too dangerous for children but now the island has become Latvia's answer to Manhattan and anyone who can afford to live here does(prices are similar to London and Rome). The tour ends in Riga's famous Skyline bar on the 26th floor of a hotel with a magnificent view of Riga by night.

Comments

1. and after from beethoven triple concerto...:D