Jāzeps Vītols

Jāzeps Vītols

Jāzeps Vītols ( German Joseph Wihtol ; born July 26, 1863 in Wolmar , † April 24, 1948 in Lübeck ) was a Latvian composer .

Life

Jāzeps Vītols was the son of the teacher Jānis Vītols and his wife Anna Vītola and grew up in Jēkabpils (Jacob City) .

In 1880 he began studying composition at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory with Julius Johannsen and Nikolai Rimski-Korsakow . After completing his studies in 1886, he stayed at the Conservatory and taught composition. From 1901 he was active as a composition professor at the same institute. Nikolai Mjaskowski and Sergei Prokofjew are among his St. Petersburg students . In 1918 Vītols returned to Latvia and became a conductor at the Latvian National Opera in Riga . In 1919 he founded the Latvian Conservatory, which was later renamed " Latvian Music Academy Jāzeps Vītols " in his honor . From 1919 to 1944 he headed the conservatory and its composition class. His most prominent students from this period were Jānis Ivanovs and Ādolfs sculptures . In 1923 he became a co-founder of the Latvian Composers' Union. In 1944 he fled to Germany with his wife Annija, where he lived in Flensburg . He died in a Lübeck hospital in 1948. His remains were transferred to Riga in 1993. Vītols was not only active as a composer and teacher. In addition to his conducting activities, he also performed as a pianist and wrote numerous music-critical works throughout his life.

style

Jāzeps Vītols is considered the founder of Latvian national music, as he was the first Latvian composer of stature. Stylistically, it can be clearly assigned to national romanticism. His compositions can not deny the influence of his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov . This is shown not least by the brilliant orchestration , which is also reminiscent of Vītols' friend Alexander Glasunow . During his time in Russia he was also very interested in Latvian folklore - at the same time he directed the Latvian Choir in St. Petersburg. Therefore, his melody clearly bears Latvian traits, often using the Dainas . He always composed his symphonic works in sonata form ; their dramatic effect is considered exemplary. Vītols was a rather conservative composer with excellent compositional technique.

Works

• Orchestral works
  • Symphony in E minor (1886–88)
  • “Lihgo” , symphonic poem, op. 4 (1889); Digitized in the Internet Archive
  • Dramatic Overture op.21 (1895)
  • "Spriditis", symphonic poem op. 37 (1907)
  • "Valuable Stones", Suite for Orchestra op. 66 (1924)
  • "Herbstlied", symphonic ballad (1928)
  • Fantasy on Latvian Folk Tunes for violin and orchestra op. 42 (1908-10)

• Vocal music
  • "The Bard of Beverina", ballad for baritone and orchestra based on the poem by Auseklis op. 28 (1891, rev. 1900)
  • "Das Lied", cantata for soprano, choir and orchestra op. 35 (1908)
  • "Northern Lights", cantata op. 45 (1914)
  • "Die Bergpredigt ", Easter cantata for baritone, female choir, organ and orchestra (1943)
  • “200 Latvian folk tunes with piano accompaniment” (1906), with revisions of the Latvian texts by Rūdolfs Blaumanis and Hans Schmidt
  • around 100 songs, including Mirdzas dziesma. Iz luga's “Vaidelote” (Mirdza's song. From the drama “Die Waidelottin” by Aspazija ); Digitized in the LNB
  • around 100 choir songs
  • around 300 folksong arrangements

• Chamber and piano music
  • String Quartet (1899)
  • Sketch for violoncello and piano op.12
  • Piano Sonata in B flat minor, Op. 1 (1886)
  • Sonatina for piano in B major op.63
  • 8 Latvian Folk Tunes for piano op.32 (1905)
  • numerous character pieces for piano

More works on the Jāzeps Vītols pages at lmic.lv (Latvian Music Information Center)

Honors

• In 2013, a bronze statue of the boy with the violin by Aigars Bikše was unveiled in Jēkabpils on the occasion of his 150th birthday. It is reminiscent of the talented child who often entertained the neighborhood with the violin and was therefore called "the little violinist" by the neighbors. [1]
• Also on its 150th birthday, Latvijas Banka issued a commemorative coin with a face value of 1 lats - one of the last lats coins before the changeover to the euro.

Fonts

• Dziesmai vieni gala nava. Jāzeps Vītols savās un laikabiedru vēstulēs 1918–1944 , edited and with an introduction by Uldis Siliņš. Nordik, Riga 2006. ISBN 9984-792-13-7 (collection of letters).

Bibliography and catalog raisonné

• Kārlis Egle (ed.): Composers Jāzeps Vītols. Bibliogrāfija . Latvijas PSR zinātnu Akadēmijas Izdevniecība (Institute of Linguistics and Literature of the Academy of Sciences of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic), Riga 1963 (with a detailed introduction to life and work in the foreword).

literature

• Lolita Fūrmane:  Vītols, Jāzeps. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, personal section, volume 17 (Vina - Zykan). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 2007, ISBN 978-3-7618-1137-5  ( online edition , subscription required for full access)
• Ol̜gerts Grāvitis: Jāzeps Vītols un latviešu tautas dziesma . Latvijas Valsts Izdevniecība, Riga 1958 (Jāzeps Vītols and the Latvian folk song).
• Vija Muške: Jāzeps Vītols, mūzikas kritikis . Latvijas PSR zinātnu Akadēmijas Izdevniecība, Riga 1974 (Jāzeps Vītols as music critic).
• Sofija Vēriņa: Jāzeps Vı̄tols. Composers and pedagogs . Avots, Riga 1991. ISBN 5-401-00488-5 (Jāzeps Vītols as a composer and music teacher).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Vītols, Jāzeps . In: Klaus Beckmann : Repertory organ music. Composers - Works - Editions, 1150–2000 . Vol. 1: Organ solo . Schott, Mainz, 3rd, revised and expanded edition 2001, ISBN 3-7957-0500-2 , p. 730.
2. ↑ Olgerts Grāvītis: Jāzeps Vītols. Konspektīva informācija . In: Uldis Siliņš (ed.): Dziesmai vieni gala nava. Jāzeps Vītols savās un laikabiedru vēstulēs 1918–1944 . Nordik, Riga 2006. pp. 11-14.