Mihkel Lüdig ( – 7 May 1958) was an

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

composer,

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 ...

and

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

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 ...

. As a composer, he particularly worked on

a cappella 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 ...

choral songs. Lüdig is considered one of the major organisers of large-scale musical events in 20th century Estonia. He was born in Vaskrääma, studied at both Moscow and St. Petersburg conservatories, and 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 of ...

in 1903; * the opening of new building of

Vanemuine Vanemuine () is a theatre in Tartu, Estonia. It is the first Estonian language, Estonian-language theatre. Stemming from the Vanemuine Society (1865), the theatre's first performance was Lydia Koidula's ''Saaremaa Onupoeg'' ("The cousin from S ...

in 1906; * the Music Day of

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 ...

in 1909; * the seventh

Estonian Song Festival The Estonian Song Festival (, or simply ) held since 1869, is one of the largest choral events in the world, a Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. It i ...

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 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 ...

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, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

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

s in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

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 Choir, 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 d ...

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

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 ...

. Until 1932, he taught

playing and played it himself in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

; then, he moved to

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

Vändra Vändra () is a borough () in Põhja-Pärnumaa Parish in Pärnu County, Estonia. It has a population of 2,191 (in 2016) and an area of 3.28 km² (1.27 sq mi). Sights On Old Church Hill there is an underground cemetery called Kabelias, wh ...

. The choral song "Dawn" (''"Koit"'') created by Mihkel Lüdig is traditionally the opening song of Estonian song festivals.

Personal life

Mihkel Lüdig was born as the second child in a family that later had a total of 18 children. His wife was a soprano Mathilde Lüdig-Sinkel (1882–1953), who moved to Germany in 1939, later to the USA. His son Peeter Paul Lüdig (1906 - 1983), who was a pianist, organist and conductor, also left in 1939 for Germany, later he also lived in the USA. He died in

. Awards: 1955 Estonian SSR people's artist

Sources

Koolielu: Mihkel Lüdig
1880 births 1958 deaths Musicians 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 conductors (music) 20th-century Estonian 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 Honoured Workers of the Arts Industry of the Estonian SSR Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour {{Estonia-composer-stub