Ojārs Raimonds Pauls (born 12 January 1936 in Iļģuciems,

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

) is a Latvian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and piano player who is well known in

, Russia,

post-Soviet countries The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

and worldwide. He was the

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizati ...

of Latvia from 1988 to 1993.

Biography

Raimonds Pauls is the second child of Iļguciems' glass blowing factory worker Voldemārs Pauls and seamstress Alma Matilde Brodele. His father Voldemārs began his career at the age of 15 years, when he joined his father (Raimonds Pauls' grandfather Ādolfs Pauls) at the factory. Meanwhile, Voldemārs' mother Aleksandra, respectively, Raimonds' grandmother, hired an assistant at her shop – Alma. In 1932, Voldemārs and Alma celebrate their wedding. Unfortunately, their firstborn son Gustavs dies from meningitis at the age of four months. As Raimonds' father has played drums and his grandfather – violin, Voldemārs decides that his son should also play a musical instrument. Equipped with an old violin, Raimonds gets into Riga's institute of Music kindergarten branch. As it was decided by the teachers that he was too young and "his fingers were unfit" for playing violin, Raimonds starts with piano lessons. In 1943, Raimonds begins his studies at Riga's 7th Elementary school, while, in parallel, continuing to take piano lessons with the professor Valerijs Zosts and teachers Emma Eglīte and Juta Daugule. In 1946, Raimonds is admitted to the Secondary Musical School of Emīls Dārziņš, combining his studies at the elementary school for three years. At the age of 14, Raimonds gains experience playing piano at restaurants and clubs with a violin and saxophone virtuoso Gunārs Kušķis. In 1949, he finishes his studies at the Riga's 7th Elementary school. During this time, he independantly develops a liking for playing jazz by studying and imitating various jazz records.

Honours

* August 1967 – Celebrated Servant of Art * June 1976 – Artist of the People's Theatre of LSSR * January 1985 – Artist of the People's Theatre of USSR * 24 November 1992 – Honorary member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences *1994 – Laureate of the Big Musical Award (for the poetic performance "" ('Every Tree You See By God is Given Thee'), the concert ('It's Time for Swing') and the CD ('In Christmas')) * 12 April 1995 – decorated with the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is "Per aspera ad astra", meaning "Thr ...

(3rd class); thus he is a commander of the Order of the Three Stars (for merits on behalf of the state of Latvia). *2020 – Order of the Rising Sun 3rd Class, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon (Japan) *Laureate of state and Komsomol awards

Major works

Musicals

* (Lovers Who Get It) (1976) * (Sister Carrie) after the Theodore Dreiser novel (1978) * (Come to the Boys) (1982) * (A Matter of the Devil) (1987) * (Forest Swans) (1995) * (The Legend of the Green Maiden) (2000)

Ballets

* (Melodies of Cuba) (1963) * (Rhythms, Rhythms) (1979) * (Stained Glass Panels) (1979)

Theatre performances

30 theatre performances, including: * (A Short Instruction in Love) * (The Ingenious Nanny) * (Sherlock Holmes) * (Brand) * (John Neiland) * (Elizabeth – Queen of England) * (The Count of Monte Cristo) * (Paradise of Ladies) * (The Melancholic Waltz) Puppet shows: * (The Belly Tomcat) * (The Two Imps) * (The Fourth Vertebra)

Films

Music for more than 30 movies, including: * ''

The Devil's Servants ''The Devil's Servants'' ( lv, Vella kalpi, russian: Слуги дьявола, Slugy dyavola) is a 1970 film produced and distributed by Riga Film Studio. It was written and directed by Aleksandrs Leimanis during the time Latvia was part of th ...

'' * ''

The Devil's Servants at the Devil's Mill ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' () * (''The Butterfly Dance'') * (''In the Pincers of the Black Lobster'') * ''

Double Trap Double trap is a shotgun shooting sport, one of the ISSF shooting events. Participants use a shotgun to attempt to break a clay disk flung away from the shooter at high speed. The layout of double trap shooting is similar to that of trap shoot ...

'' () * (''A Present for a Lonely Woman'') * ''

My Frivolous Friend My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * My (album), ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * My (EP), ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon ...

'' () * ''

Theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

'' () after

the novel ''The Novel'' (1991) is a novel written by American author James A. Michener. A departure from Michener's better known historical fiction, ''The Novel'' is told from the viewpoints of four different characters involved in the life and work of ...

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

* ''

A Limousine the Colour of Midsummer's Eve ''A Limousine the Colour of Midsummer's Eve'' ( lv, Limuzīns Jāņu nakts krāsā, russian: Лимузин цвета белой ночи, Lymuzyn tsveta beloy nochy) is a 1981 Latvian TV-film, a comedy directed by Jānis Streičs. Movie was pr ...

'' * '' The Mills of Fate'' (), for the '' Long Road in the Dunes'' series, etc.

Choir music

* Three songs for choir and piano (1972) * Ten arrangements of Latvian folk songs for boys' choir (1980) * Song cycle with lyrics from Latvian poet

Aspazija Aspazija was the pen name of Elza Johanna Emilija Lizete Pliekšāne (née Elza Rozenberga; 16 March 1865 – 5 November 1943), a Latvian poet and playwright. Aspazija is the Latvian transliteration of Aspasia. Biography Aspazija was born ...

for boys' choir (1980) * (The White Songs) for boys' choir and instrumental ensemble (1981) * Song cycle for choir and piano (1984) * (Songs of a Willow Pipe) cycle for boys' choir (1984) * (A Small and Happy Boy) – ten songs for boys' choir and piano with the lyrics of M. Karēms (1985) * Cycle (Pearl Hunter) for boys’ choir and tenor (1986)

Cycles of light music songs

* (The Stained Glass Panels of the Old Rīga) (1971) * Five songs with the lyrics of D. Avotiņa (1972) * Oriental motifs (1982) * City romance (1983) * (The Black Cry) (1985) * Cycle with lyrics by Rainis (1985)

Jazz

* (Portraits) suite (1962) * A Rhapsody for piano and light music orchestra (1964) * (Impressions) suite (1965) * suite (The Water-Colours of the South) (1965) * (Mountain Sketches) (1966) * Five improvisations in the spirit of Latvian folk songs (1967) * (Black Colours) suite (1967) * Jazz expressions (1970) and other works

Instrumental music

* Approximately 300 works, including instrumental versions of songs, arrangements of folk songs, versions on familiar themes, arrangements of classical composer works. * More than 90 albums with songs and instrumental music (/Daiga Mazvērsīte) ;Music for radio performances and plays ;Approximately 70 songs for children

Popular songs in Russian

* " Million Roses" ("") by

Alla Pugacheva Alla Borisovna Pugacheva, ) (born 15 April 1949), is а Soviet and Russian musical performer. Her career started in 1965 and continues to this day, even though she has retired from performing. For her "clear mezzo-soprano and a full display o ...

* "" ("") by Alla Pugacheva * "Maestro" ("") by Alla Pugacheva * "" ("") by Alla Pugacheva * "" ("") by Alla Pugacheva * "" ("") by Alla Pugacheva * "" ("") by Alla Pugacheva * " Zeleni svet" ("") by

Valery Leontiev Valery Yakovlevich Leontiev (russian: link=no, Валерий Яковлевич Леонтьев; born 19 March 1949) is a Soviet and Russian pop singer, sometimes songwriter and actor whose popularity peaked in the early 1980s. He was titled a ...

* " Ischezli Solnechnie Dni" ("") by Valery Leontiev * "" ("") by Valery Leontiev * "" ("") by Valery Leontiev * "" ("") by Valery Leontiev * "" ("") by Valery Leontiev * "" ("") by Valery Leontiev * "" ("") by Valery Leontiev * "" ("") by Valery Leontiev or Andrei Mironov * "'" ("") by Valery Leontiev * "" ("") by Valery Leontiev * "" ("") by Valery Leontiev and Laima Vaikule * "" ("") by

Laima Vaikule Laima Vaikule (born 31 March 1954) is a Latvian actress, singer, director, and choreographer, best known in Europe and in the former USSR for such popular hits as "Vernisage" and "Charlie," among other songs. Biography Vaikule was born on 31 Mar ...

* "" ("") by Laima Vaikule * "" ("") by Laima Vaikule * "" ("") by Laima Vaikule * "" ("") by

* "" ("") by

Jaak Joala Jaak Joala (26 June 1950 – 25 September 2014) was an Estonian singer, musician and a member of two bands: Kristallid and Virmalised. He began as a flautist, later adding singing and bass guitar. Biography Early life Jaak Joala was born i ...

* "" ("") by Jaak Joala * "" ("") by

Larisa Mondrus Larisa Izrailevna Mondrus ( lv, Larisa Mondrusa, russian: Лари́са Изра́илевна Мо́ндрус, german: Larissa Mondrus; born 15 November 1943) is a Soviet singer ( soprano), who was popular in the USSR in the 1960s. In 1973 she e ...

* "" ("") by

Roza Rymbayeva Roza Kuanyshkyzy Rymbayeva ( kk, Роза Қуанышқызы Рымбаева, ''Roza Quanyşqyzy Rymbaeva''; born 1957) is a Soviet Union, Soviet and Kazakhs, Kazakh singer, the People's Artist, people's artist of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist R ...

* "" ("") by Nikolai Gnatyk

Popular songs in Latvian

* "To my Fatherland" ("") by Viktors Lapčenoks (co-composed with Jānis Peters)

Recordings

* ''Dialogue'', album with

(1984) * ''Velvet season'', album with Valery Leontiev (1986)

Politics

Raimonds Pauls was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Latvian SSR), also known as Soviet Latvia or simply Latvia, was a federated republic within the Soviet Union, and formally one of its 16 (later 15) constituent republics. The Latvian Soviet Socialist Rep ...

and served as Minister of Culture in the Latvian government from 1988 to 1993. In 1993 he became an advisor to the

President of Latvia The president of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Valsts prezidents ) is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Latvian National Armed Forces, National Armed Forces of the Latvia, Republic of Latvia. The term of office is four years. Before 1999, it w ...

. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, he was elected a Member 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 po ...

, the Latvian parliament, initially as leader of the New Party.''Latvia votes for Europe'', The Economist, 10 October 1998 Before the 2002 elections he joined the People's Party and was elected on its party list in 2002 and

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. Pauls ran in the 1999 presidential election and received the highest number of votes, but below the required majority. He chose to decline the post. After Latvia re-established independence, Pauls continued his musical work, most notably working with , the most popular children's group in Latvia at the time. In 1996, he went on a tour with singer

, which included concert locations in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Works

As of 2004, Pauls has composed music for six

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

s and

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

s, three

ballets Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

and over 50

movies A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and theater performances. CDs with Pauls' music have been released in several countries outside Latvia, including Russia, Finland and Japan. In 2006 he recorded a double album of jazz music, ''My Favourite Melodies''/''So Many Stars'' – a long-awaited venture by the pianist into the jazz genre.

References

External links

Official site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pauls, Raimonds 1936 births Living people Musicians from Riga New Party (Latvia) politicians People's Party (Latvia) politicians Members of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union Ministers of Culture of Latvia Deputies of the 7th Saeima Deputies of the 8th Saeima Deputies of the 9th Saeima Candidates for President of Latvia Latvian composers Latvian pianists Latvian classical pianists Soviet composers Soviet male composers Male musical theatre composers 21st-century classical pianists Latvian Academy of Music alumni People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Lenin Komsomol Prize Recipients of the Cross of Recognition Knights First Class of the Order of the Polar Star 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians Politicians from Riga