Gustav Ernesaks

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Grave of Gustav Ernesaks in the Tallinn Forest Cemetery (2011)

Gustav Ernesaks (born December 12, 1908 in Perila , Peningi , † January 24, 1993 in Tallinn ) was a Soviet - Estonian composer and choirmaster.

Life

Gustav Ernesaks graduated from the Tallinn Conservatory with the subjects of music education with Juhan Aavik (1931) and composition with Artur Kapp (1934). He then worked as a music teacher at various schools in Tallinn. From 1937 to 1941 he was a lecturer at the Tallinn Conservatory.

During the Second World War Ernesaks was involved in state Soviet art ensembles in Yaroslavl . In 1944 he founded the later Estonian National Male Choir (Eesti Rahvusmeeskoor - RAM) , whose artistic director he remained until his death in 1993. In 1945 he became professor of choral conducting at the Tallinn Conservatory.

Gustav Ernesaks was one of the organizers of the great Estonian song festivals . During the Soviet period in Estonia, he became one of the most popular leading figures in Estonian society, without, however, assuming too much of an open opposition role. Nevertheless, some describe him as a pioneer of the Singing Revolution in Estonia. In 2004, a monument to Gustav Ernesaks was unveiled at the Tallinn Singers' Stage.

plant

Gustav Ernesaks' work is very extensive. Most of the songs are for choir, including the nationally minded Mein Vaterland ist mein Liebe ( Mu isamaa on minu arm ) based on a text by Lydia Koidula . Under the Soviet occupation it became one of the central songs of Estonian self-assertion. His work includes five operas and numerous other works that have found wide circulation in Estonia. Ernesaks also wrote the music for the anthem of the Estonian SSR .

Web links

Commons : Gustav Ernesaks  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Ernesaks, Gustav. In: MGG Online (subscription required).
  2. ↑ a b biography in the Estonian Music Information Center (English)
  3. ^ List of the stage works by Ernesaks, Gustav based on the MGG at Operone
personal data
SURNAME Ernesaks, Gustav
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Эрнесакс, Густав Густавович (Russian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Soviet-Estonian composer
DATE OF BIRTH December 12, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH Perila , Peningi , Russian Empire
DATE OF DEATH January 24, 1993
Place of death Tallinn , Estonia