Emīls Dārziņš (November 3, 1875 – August 31, 1910) was a

Latvian Latvian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Latvia **Latvians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to what is modern-day Latvia and the immediate geographical region **Latvian language, also referred to as Lettish **Latvian cuisine **Latvi ...

composer,

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

and music critic. Dārziņš' work bears a distinct

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

character, with a strong trend towards

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

themes. His main musical authorities and influences were

Pyotr Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

and

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

. Dārziņš musical contribution is mainly to

vocal music Vocal music is a type of singing performed by one or more singers, either with instrumental accompaniment, or without instrumental accompaniment ( a cappella), in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but ...

(

choral 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 s ...

and

art song An art song is a Western vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such son ...

s), but he also composed

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l music, though only one piece, "Melanholiskais valsis" (Melancholic waltz) has survived. His only

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

, "Rožainās dienas" (Rosy days), remained unfinished after his early death at the age of 34.

Biography

Dārziņš was born on November 3, 1875, in a rural teacher's family. Both his parents were very musical and facilitated Emīls's first musical education. His father, being an amateur musician and conductor of a local choir, taught his son to play the piano. Dārziņš's attachment to music became stronger after he almost lost his eyesight at the age of 3, as a result of overstraining it while reading. He was also diagnosed allergic to sunlight, so for 5 years he was living in a completely dark room. He could go back to normal life when he was eight. Since then, he also was going to school. Dārziņš spent his childhood in the country and attended various local schools. During those years he became familiar with the music of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

and

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

. At the age of 16 Dārziņš moved to Riga, where he continued his studies in music and composed his first choral piece "Jūs, kalni, jūs, lejas" ("You, mountains, you, lowlands"). This song received favourable mention from the well-known Latvian composer,

Jāzeps Vītols Jāzeps Vītols (german: Joseph Wihtol; 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 sc ...

, who had been a pupil of

Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

. Dārziņš's attendance at the 4th Latvian Song Festival in

Jelgava Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also #Name, other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the unit ...

finally strengthened his determination to become a musician. In 1897, Dārziņš began study at the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

, but was forced to leave because of an abrupt sickness. He finally entered St Petersburg Conservatory, in the organ class. Due to financial hardship Dārziņš was forced to give music lessons, yet that was not enough to cover his living expenses. In spring 1901, not having finished his studies, Dārziņš returned to Riga where he started to work as a music critic, teacher, choir conductor and pianist. "To work for my nation and its art - that will be my motto!" - he wrote in one letter at that time. In November 1903, Dārziņš married Marija Deidere, yet the marriage was not a happy one, partially due to endless material difficulties, also due to the composer's growing addiction to alcohol. The latter was apparently exacerbated by the especially hostile attitude that other Latvian musicians apparently displayed towards him. In 1906 their son Volfgangs was born. In the beginning of 1908, two orchestral pieces by Dārziņš were performed in Riga, yet these met with fierce negative criticism from other Latvian composers. P. Jurjāns called him "a dilettante and a boasting critic" and even accused him of plagiarism. Dārziņš objected and asked for an independent opinion of an authoritative professor

Alexander Glazunov Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov; ger, Glasunow (, 10 August 1865 – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 ...

, who found the criticisms unfounded. Yet Jurjāns had obtained a letter from

Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

which apparently supported his biting criticism. Having received this strong moral blow, Dārziņš decided to destroy all his orchestral works. The well known "Melanholiskais valsis (Melancholy waltz)" was restored after his death. At the end of the same year, Dārziņš started work on opera "Rožainās dienas", which, however, was left unfinished. The composer died on August 31, 1910, in an accident the causes of which are still the subject of controversy. It is believed that he committed suicide by falling under a train. The

Emīls Dārziņš Music School The Emīls Dārziņš Music School (''Emīla Dārziņa mūzikas vidusskola'') is the junior music conservatory in located in the Āgenskalns district of Riga, named after Emīls Dārziņš Emīls Dārziņš (November 3, 1875 – August 31, 19 ...

is named after him.

External links

Article in ''Latvian Education Informatization System''
(in Latvian)
Article in ''Jauniešu enciklopēdija "Baltija"''
(in Latvian) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Darzins, Emils 1875 births 1910 suicides People from Cēsis Municipality People from Kreis Wenden Latvian composers Latvian conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Latvian music critics Suicides by train Suicides in Latvia 1910 deaths Musicians from the Russian Empire