Alfrēds Bruno Jānis Kalniņš (23 August 1879, in

Cēsis Cēsis (; (, , , ) is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja River valley, and is built on a series of ridges above the river, overlooking the woods below. Cēsis was selected to b ...

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– 23 December 1951, 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 ...

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) was 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 def ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...

and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

; the founder of national Latvian opera. Kalniņš is primarily remembered for his national opera ''Baņuta'' (1920).

Life

Kalniņš took piano and violin lessons at an early age. He attended the school of music in Riga. He often visited the Riga theatre, where he could listen to operas and concerts. He made acquaintance with Oskars Šepskis (1850-1914), a composer and organist, who gave him private lessons. From 1897 until 1901 he studied

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

and

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

Saint Petersburg Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory () (formerly known as the Petrograd Conservatory and Leningrad Conservatory) is a school of music in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In 2004, the conservatory had around 275 faculty member ...

. After a short stay in Riga, which he spent writing a series of

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

s, he accepted a post as an organist at the Saint Nicholas ChurchThis church was lost after a Soviet bombardment in 1944, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. in

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 of ...

in 1903. At present Pärnu is located in

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

, but then it belonged to the Russian

. Kalniņš also gave

music lesson Music lessons are a type of formal instruction in playing a musical instrument or singing. Typically, a student taking music lessons meets a music teacher for one-to-one training sessions ranging from 30 minutes to one hour in length over a pe ...

s at the local grammar school and conducted the school choir. In Pärnu his son Jānis Kalniņš, who would become a composer too, was born in 1904. Kalniņš stayed in Pärnu until 1911. In that year he took the post of organist at the Church of Saint Anne at

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 ...

, where he also conducted the choir of the local music society. Apart from the church services he also played organ concertos and was involved in the restoration of the church organ. In 1914 the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out. In 1915 Liepājā fell into the hands of the Germans. Kalniņš fled to

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

(like Pärnu then in Livonia and now in Estonia). There he worked as an organist and a conductor and gave private music lessons. When in 1918 Tartu fell into the hands of the Germans too, he returned to Liepāja. In 1919 he accepted a job as head of the Department of Music at the Ministry of Education and chairman of the Music Council at Riga, now the capital of independent

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 ...

. Besides, he acted as organist of Saint James’s Church (now Saint James’s Cathedral), wrote criticisms and conducted the students choir of the

University of Latvia University of Latvia (, shortened ''LU'') is a public research university located in Riga, Latvia. The university was established in 1919. History The University of Latvia, initially named as the Higher School of Latvia () was founded on Se ...

. In 1926 he acted as chief conductor at the 6th

Latvian Song and Dance Festival The Latvian Song and Dance Festival () is one of the largest amateur choral and dancing events in the world, and an important event in Latvians, Latvian culture and social life. As one of the Baltic song festivals, it is also a part of the UNES ...

. In the years 1927-1933 he lived in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, where he worked as an organist, played concertos and gave music lessons. In 1933 Kalniņš returned to Riga, where he took the post of organist at

Riga Cathedral Riga Cathedral (; ) formally The Cathedral Church of Saint Mary, is the Evangelical Lutheran cathedral in Riga, Latvia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Riga. The cathedral is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Latvia, and is featur ...

. Between 1944 and 1948 he was the Rector of the Latvian Academy of Music, where he gave organ lessons too. In 1948 he retired, and died three years later. In 2022, all organ works by Alfrēds Kalniņš were published both in a print edition and on a CD recording. The editor and performer is the Riga Cathedral organist Aigars Reinis.

Monuments

On Kalniņš’s one hundredth birthday in 1979, a bronze bust of Kalniņš was unveiled in Cēsis, his place of birth. In 2004 it was replaced to the local school of music, which carries his name: ''Alfrēda Kalniņa Cēsu Mūzikas vidusskola''. In 1979 Riga got a statue of the composer too. It is located at the opera building. In Viestura Park, also in Riga, there is a monument portraying eight Latvian composers, among them Alfrēds Kalniņš.

Compositions

Kalniņš was a very prolific composer, who wrote hundreds of songs, both for solo voice with piano accompaniment and for choir. Of his six

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 ...

s the best known is ''Jūra'' (‘The Sea’), and numerous organ works. In 1918 Kalniņš started working on his most famous piece of music, the

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 ...

''Baņuta'', which went into premiere in 1920 in Riga. It is the first opera with a

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

in Latvian. When Kalniņš lived in New York, he rewrote a big part of its music. This version of the opera was performed for the first time in 1937. In 1940, under

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 ...

rule, Kalniņš had to change the end of the opera. In the original version the principal person Baņuta and her lover Vižuts commit suicide; now the opera got a happy end. On 5 June 1982 the opera was performed for the first time in the West, namely in New York. This production was based on the 1937 version. The 1940 version has not been performed since. The opera has always remained popular, especially in Latvia, and is still performed from time to time. Kalniņš’s second opera ''Salinieki'' (‘The island dwellers’, 1926) is lesser known. Moreover, he composed a

ballet 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 ...

, ''Staburags'', an orchestral suite and pieces for organ and piano.

Organ Solo

* ''Phantasie'' (1901) * ''Pastorale'' No. 1 (1913) * ''Introduzione et Allegro'' (1928) * ''Cloister Idyll'' (1928) * ''Scherzo'' (1928) * ''Christmas Cradle Song'' (1928) * ''Wedding March'' (1936) * ''Procession'' (1937) * ''Variations on a Theme by Jānis Kalniņš'' (1938) * ''Agitato'' (1938) * ''On Saturday's Eve'' (1939) * ''A Solemn Introduction from the Opera "Baņuta"'' (1920/1939) * ''Funeral March from the Opera "Baņuta"'' (1920/1939) * ''Prelude'' (1941) * ''Pastorale'' No. 2 (1943) * ''Variations on a Theme by

Jāzeps Vītols Jāzeps Vītols (; 26 July 1863 – 24 April 1948) was a Latvian composer, pedagogue and music critic. He is considered one of the fathers of Latvian classical music. Biography Vītols, born in Valmiera the son of a schoolteacher, began hi ...

'' (1949) * ''Hymn to My Homeland'' (1908-1911)

Edition

* Alfrēds Kalniņš: ''Ērģeļmūzika / Organ Music'', edited by Aigars Reinis. Riga (Latvia): Musica Baltica, 2022, ISMN 979-0-2650-3046-1.

Recordings

* ''Alfrēds Kalniņš: Organ Music''. Aigars Reinis/Walcker Organ at Riga Cathedral. 2 CD's. Riga (Latvia): Skani, 2022. * ''Baņuta'', Choir of the Latvian National Opera, Symphony Orchestra of Latvian TV and Radio, dir. Aleksandrs Viļumanis. Rīgas Skaņu RS010, 1996 (2 cds, full libretto in Latvian and English). * Jānis Kalniņš, ''Potter’s Field'', Latvian Radio and Consum Choirs, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, dir. Andrejs Jansons / Alfrēds Kalniņš, ''The Sea'', Latvian Radio, Consum and Versija Choirs, Latvian National Opera Orchestra, dir. Andrejs Jansons (Cantatas). Latvian Concert NYLCC 007, 2004. * Organ Music: Prelude, Pastorale in B major, Fantasia for organ, Lullaby, Variations on a Theme of

- Performed by Pēteris Sīpolnieks,

Melodiya Melodiya () is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union. History Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya" in accordance wi ...

LP C10-12381-2, 1980.

Sources

A document about Kalniņš’s life, in Latvian, Word format
* Biruta Sūrmane, Text in the booklet accompanying the cd ''Baņuta'', RS010, 1996.

References

External links

Biography and list of Kalniņš’s works
(in Latvian)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalnins, Alfreds 1879 births 1951 deaths People from Cēsis People from Cēsis county Latvian composers Latvian organists Male organists Latvian conductors (music) Latvian male conductors (music) Latvian expatriates in Russia Latvian expatriates in the United States Latvian male classical composers 20th-century Latvian classical composers 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Latvian people 20th-century male musicians Pupils of Anatoly Lyadov Pupils of Carl Czerny Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni Academic staff of Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music People's Artists of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic