Mihkel Lüdig
Mihkel Lüdig (* April 27 . Jul / 9. May 1880 greg. In Vaskrääma , Governorate of Livonia , now rural community Paikuse , Pärnu county , Estonia ; † 7. May 1958 in Vändra ) was an Estonian composer.
Life
Mihkel Lüdig was born into the large family of a forester. He got enthusiastic about music from an early age. At the age of six, thanks to the support of a local manufacturer, he took lessons from the Pärnu organist Max Peters and played the organ in the Pärnu Nikolaikirche. One quickly became aware of the talented boy.
From 1897 he took organ lessons at the Moscow Conservatory with the Latvian organist Ludvigs Bētiņš . Lüdig then studied due to illness of his teacher from 1898 to 1904 at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in the class of Louis Homilius . He took courses in music theory and composition with Nikolai Solowjow , Nikolai Rimski-Korsakow and Alexander Glasunow .
After completing his studies, Lüdig worked as the leader of various Estonian choirs in the Russian capital. In addition, he succeeded Rudolf Tobias as organist in the Lutheran Johannes Church, a center of the Estonian-speaking congregation of Saint Peterburg. At the same time he worked as a pianist in Count Nikolai Sheremetev's symphony orchestra and as an expert in the Offenbacher piano factory in Petersburg . In 1908 Lüdig organized the first symphony concert in Saint Petersburg, where only works by Estonian composers were performed.
From 1904 Lüdig performed with his first wife, the singer Mathilde Lüdig-Sinkel , at concerts in Saint Petersburg, Moscow and Estonia. He remained closely connected to the musical life of Estonia. In 1903 he was one of the directors of the Liedertag in Pärnu, and in 1906 he opened the new Vanemuine theater and concert hall in Tartu . In 1910, Lüdig directed the VII Estonian Song Festival in Tallinn. In 1911 he opened the Endla theater and concert hall in Pärnu.
During the First World War , Lüdig served in a military orchestra in Saint Petersburg.
With the revolution in Russia and the proclamation of Estonian independence, the Lüdig family moved to Estonia in 1918. In 1919 Lüdig co-founded the Tallinn Higher Music School (later Tallinn Conservatory ) in Tallinn , which he directed until 1923. From 1920 to 1922 Lüdig was a lecturer there for the organ. From 1918 to 1924 Lüdig was also the organist at the Tallinn Karlskirche . In 1923 he and friends founded the joint stock company Esto-Muusika , one of the largest instrument and music stores in Estonia during the interwar period . He was also a co-founder of the music magazine Helikund , which appeared once a month. With his wife he went on concert tours to Germany and France in the 1920s.
In the mid-1920s, Lüdig decided to emigrate to Argentina for financial reasons. The time in Latin America turned out to be a flop because there was no concert organ in Argentina. Lüdig earned his living mainly as a bar pianist. From 1925 to 1928 he worked as the director of the German men's choir and music teacher in Buenos Aires . In Argentina he founded the Estonian Association in 1926.
In 1929, Lüdig, who was suffering from health problems, returned to Estonia. He worked as a musician and music critic in Tallinn and Pärnu , from 1934 he lived in Vändra. In 1940 Lüdig was made an honorary professor at the Tallinn Conservatory . In 1955 he was awarded the "People's Artist of the Estonian SSR " award.
Compositional work
Mihkel Lüdig has composed numerous works with a folk Estonian touch, including over fifty songs for choral singing and solo pieces. Above all, his piece Koit ("Dawn"), composed for choir in 1904 based on a text by Friedrich Kuhlbars, has become a trademark of the Estonian song festivals .
In addition to other works, Lüdig composed two fantasy overtures (1906, 1945), the symphonic poem Johannisnacht (1910), two ballads for cello and symphony orchestra (1945, 1958), the Lembitu Suite (1909) and a suite based on Estonian folk tunes (1955) . Lüdig's incidental music for Ansomardi's drama Murueide tütar (1901) and fragments for the opera Kalevipoeg ja Tuuslar based on a libretto by O. Mägi (1908) also became known.
Private life
Mihkel Lüdig was married to the soprano Mathilde Lüdig-Sinkel (1882–1953) from 1904 . The marriage resulted in two sons, including the pianist and conductor Peeter Paul Lüdig (1906–1983). After the divorce, Mihkel Lüdig married Olga Mõtus (1886–1987).
literature
- Eesti elulood. Tallinn: Eesti entsüklopeediakirjastus 2000 (= Eesti entsüklopeedia 14) ISBN 9985-70-064-3 , p. 268
Web links
- Works by and about Mihkel Lüdig in the catalog of the German National Library
- Curriculum vitae, list of works, music examples, pictures (Estonian)
- Biographical information (ISIK)
- Mihkel Lüdig. Estonian Music Information Center (English / Estonian)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ludig, Mihkel |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Estonian composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 9, 1880 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vaskrääma , Livonia Governorate , today Paikuse Rural Municipality , Pärnu County , Estonia |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 7, 1958 |
| Place of death | Vändra |