Mihkel Lüdig ( in Vaskrääma – 7 May 1958 in

Vändra Vändra (german: Fennern) is a borough ( et, alev) in Põhja-Pärnumaa Parish in Pärnu County, Estonia. It has a population of 2,191 and an area of 3.28 km². Vändra is the birthplace of Estonian journalist and poet Johann Voldemar Janns ...

) was an Estonian composer,

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

and

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

conductor. As a composer, he particularly worked on a cappella choral songs. Lüdig is considered one of the major organisers of large-scale musical events in 20th century Estonia. He was a student of Nicolai Soloviev.

Events

Lüdig initiated and led a number of events: * the Singing Day of

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet ...

in 1903; * the opening of new building of

Vanemuine Vanemuine () is a theatre in Tartu, Estonia. It was the first Estonian language theatre. History ''1870–1906 The Beginning of the Beginning. Koidula’s Theatre, Wiera’s Theatre.'' On June 24, 1870 was the first day in Estonian theatre ...

in 1906; * the Music Day of Tartu in 1909; * the seventh

Estonian Song Festival The Estonian Song Festival (in Estonian: ''laulupidu'', ) is one of the largest choral events in the world, a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. It is held every five years in July on the Tallinn Song Festival G ...

in 1910; * the opening of Endla in 1911.

Business

Lüdig was among the founders of Esto-Muusika, the most successful music supply business in Estonia of the time, and the short-lived monthly journal , edited by .

Career

In 1918–1924, Lüdig worked as an

of the Kaarli kirik. In 1920–1922, Lüdig was an organ teacher in the Tallinn Higher School of Music, one of whose founders he had been in 1919. Lüdig was also a director of the school in 1919–1923. In 1925, Lüdig moved to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, hoping to find better work. However, the rumours of lack of

s in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

turned out to be severely overblown, so his career there began at the post of an inn pianist; later he also

conducted Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duti ...

for a local German male choir. In 1929, Lüdig moved back to

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. Until 1932, he taught organ playing and played it himself in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

; then, he moved to

and became a conductor of the Endla society. In 1934–1958 — until his death — he lived and worked in

Sources

Koolielu: Mihkel Lüdig
1880 births 1958 deaths People from Pärnu People from Kreis Pernau Estonian Lutherans Estonian organists Male organists Estonian choral conductors 20th-century organists 20th-century Estonian composers 20th-century Estonian musicians 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century male musicians Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni Moscow Conservatory alumni Academic staff of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre People's Artists of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic {{Estonia-composer-stub