Jānis Ivanovs (27 March 1983) was a Latvian composer whose later career took place in the Soviet Union. In 1931, he graduated from the Latvian State Conservatory in Riga. In 1944, he joined the conservatory's faculty, becoming a full professor in 1955. He is regarded as being the most distinguished Latvian symphonist. His love of melody is evident in each of his compositions, and forms the essence of his works. He often drew inspiration from the native songs of the

Latgale Latgale (; ; ; ; ; ; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Belarusian Latin: ''Łathalija''; ), also known as Latgalia or Latgallia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region of the country and lies north of the Daugava River. Wh ...

district in eastern Latvia. His grasp of orchestral color and musical texture were highly regarded by his colleagues. The Latvian composer and music critic Marģeris Zariņš described Ivanovs' symphonies as "like ancient Greek tragedies, filled with ecstasy and purification." He is mostly remembered for his twenty-one symphonies. Nevertheless, he composed in many other fields, including five symphonic poems, concertos for

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

and

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

, three string quartets, and numerous vocal, piano and various chamber works. He became the

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

in 1965, was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1950 and

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 ...

State Prize in 1959 and 1970.

Compositions

Symphonies

* No. 1 in B-flat minor ''Poema Sinfonia'' (1933) * No. 2 in D minor (1937) * No. 3 in F minor (1938) * No. 4 ''Atlantis'' with female choir (1941) * No. 5 in C major (1945) * No. 6 ''Latgalian'' (1949) * No. 7 in C minor (1953) * No. 8 in B minor (1956) * No. 9 (1960) * No. 10 (1963) * No. 11 in E-flat minor (1965) * No. 12 in C major ''Sinfonia Energica'' (1967) * No. 13 in D minor ''Sinfonia Humana'' (1969) * No. 14 ''Sinfonia da Camera'' for string orchestra (1971) * No. 15 ''Sinfonia Ipsa'' (1972) * No. 16 (1974) * No. 17 in C major (1976) * No. 18 (1977) * No. 19 (1979) * No. 20 in E-flat major (1981) * No. 21 in C major (1983, Unfinished)

Tone poems

* ''Rainbow'' (1939) * ''Lāčplēsis'' (1957) * ''Poema Luttuoso'' for string orchestra (1966) * ''Novella Brevis'' (1982)

Other orchestral works

* Violin Concerto in E minor (1951) * Cello Concerto in B minor (1952) * Piano Concerto in D minor (1959)

Chamber music

* String Quartet no. 1 (1931/32) * String Quartet no. 2 in C major (1946) * String Quartet no. 3 (1961) * Piano Trio (1976, published 1979)

Piano works

* Three Sketches * Sonata Brevis * Andante Replicado in E-flat minor

Choral music

* '' Vocalises'' for

SATB In music, SATB is a scoring of compositions for choirs or consorts of instruments consisting of four voice types: soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Choral music Four-part harmony using soprano, alto, tenor and bass is a common scoring in classic ...

chorus

a capella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

(1964–1982)

Notes

References

External links

Onno van Rijen's Soviet Composer Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanovs, Janis 1906 births 1983 deaths 20th-century Latvian classical composers 20th-century male composers People from Dvinsky Uyezd People from Preiļi Latvian Academy of Music alumni Third convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Fourth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union People's Artists of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Latvian male classical composers Latvian classical musicians Latvian composers Latvian conductors (music) Soviet classical musicians Soviet conductors (music) Soviet film score composers Soviet male composers Soviet music educators Burials at Forest Cemetery, Riga