Imants Kalniņš (born 26 May 1941) is a

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

n composer, musician and politician. Having studied classical and choral music, he has written seven symphonies, several

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s (including the first

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

in the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, ),

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

songs, a lot of

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

and

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

music. However, he is generally best known for his

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

songs. In 2021, Kalniņš received the Grand Music Award for lifetime achievement. Furthermore, he served as a member of the 5th, 7th, 8th, and 9th sitting of the

Saeima The Saeima () is the parliament of the Latvia, Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the p ...

, the parliament of

, from 1993 to 1995 and again from 1998 through 2010, representing the

For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK (, abbreviated to TB/LNNK) was a free-market, national conservative political party in Latvia. In 2011, it dissolved and merged into the National Alliance (Latvia), National Alliance. The party was founded from sm ...

party.

Life and career

Kalniņš was born 26 May 1941 in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation of the Bal ...

. During the 1960s, Kalniņš led the

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

rock band 2xBBM, which was extremely loved because of its heartfelt songs and

hippy A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to different countries around the w ...

-like lifestyle. Kalniņš became the symbol of the spirituality, rebellion and worldview of the generation, and it was emphasized by the fact the band was forced to stop playing because of the pressure from official institutions. However, this did not stop the music of Kalniņš from being played by the extremely popular band , which almost exclusively plays songs written by Kalniņš. During the 1970s, Kalniņš returned to writing symphonic music. In 1984, he wrote the rock oratorio ''Kā jūra, kā zeme, kā debess'' (''Like the sea, like the earth, like the sky'') together with and Juris Sējāns. The oratorio was the first thing played by the band Pērkons for the general public. With it Kalniņš returned to

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

once more. He wrote many new songs for Pērkons, and these same songs led him to start his own band, in 1985, however, it never gained the recognition and adoration as Menuets and Pērkons. During the

Singing Revolution The Singing Revolution was a series of events from 1987 to 1991 that led to the restoration of independence of the three Soviet-occupied Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania at the end of the Cold War. The term was coined by a ...

, Kalniņš took an active part in the Popular Front of Latvia, which played the most important role in ending Latvia's occupation by the

. The festival most associated with Kalniņš is the Imantdienas ('The Days of Imants'), extremely popular during the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

times and therefore banned. The tradition was reintroduced in 1995, and since then has happened every year (with the exception of 1997, when the composer was away on a trip, and 2009 after the 2008 Latvian financial crisis). It has remained at least as popular as before. Lately, Imants Kalniņš has been working together with the well-known Latvian musician , and their collaboration has resulted in some albums containing primarily music by Kalniņš, such as ''Par lietām, kas tā ar' nekad nepāriet'' (''About things that never truly go away'') (1997), ''Es redzēju sapnī'' (''I Saw in a dream'') (1998) and ''I Love You'' (1999; despite the English title, the lyrics are mostly in Latvian in this album). In 2000, music for the 1973 movie "" was re-recorded by the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra as well as many recognized singers. In 1973, Kalniņš composed the song "", which became the official anthem of Liepāja in 1999. In April 2015, after his translation of

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

from Arabic to Latvian, Kalniņš was reported to have converted

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

by some outlets, but Kalniņš himself has later refuted these claims.

Private life

Kalniņš has been married five times. In total, he has 7 children. The third marriage, the longest of the former wedlocks, was with the actress Helga Dancberga who died in 2019. They had three children, Dana Kalniņa-Zaķe who became the lead for the Latvian Association of Professional Health Care Chaplains, actress Rēzija Kalniņa and pastor Krists Kalniņš. Currently, he is married to Agra (since 1999).

Works

Orchestral

Symphony * No. 1 (1964) * No. 2 (1965) * No. 3 (1968) * No. 4 with Soprano (11 poems by Kelly Cherry, 1973) * No. 4 (revised without vocal soloist) * No. 5 (1979) * No. 6 with Choir (

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

, 2001) * No. 7 (2015) Concerto * Concerto for Cello (1963) * Concerto for Orchestra (1966) * Concerto for Oboe (2012) Other * Symphonic Miniature, Santa Cruz (2015)

Vocal

Oratorios: * October Oratorio (1967) * The Poet and the Mermaid * Morning Hours Rock Opera * Hello, Out There (Ei, jūs turl!) (1971) * I Played, I Danced Incidental music for Theater * The Prince and The Pauper * The Three Musketeers * Motorcycle (poetry of Imants Ziedonis) (1967)

Film

* Blow, Wind (Pūt, vējiņi! (1973)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalnins, Imants 1941 births Living people Musicians from Riga Politicians from Riga Latvian National Independence Movement politicians Latvian Farmers' Union politicians For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK politicians Deputies of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia Deputies of the 5th Saeima Deputies of the 7th Saeima Deputies of the 8th Saeima Deputies of the 9th Saeima Latvian classical composers Soviet classical composers Soviet male composers Latvian male classical composers Quran translators 20th-century male composers 20th-century Latvian translators 21st-century classical composers 21st-century Latvian male musicians People's Artists of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic Recipients of the Cross of Recognition