Miina Härma (born Miina Hermann; February 9, 1864 – November 16, 1941) was an Estonian composer. She was the second Estonian musician with higher education. Her greatest contribution is perhaps the fact that she took organ music to the countryside, as virtually no skilled organists gave concerts outside of towns. During her 60-year creative career, she wrote more than 200 choral songs,10 cavatinas, a canto, " Kalev and Linda" and much more. She composed mainly vocal music.

Biography

Härma was born Miina Hermann in 1864 in Kõrveküla,

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

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to a local teacher and his wife. There were seven children in the family. Both of her parents were musically educated. Härma began to learn music on her own with a small organ her father bought her. When she was 15, Härma began studying with K. A. Hermann, who gave her lessons in both musical composition and piano. In 1883, Härma entered the Saint Petersburg Conservatory as its only organ student that year. She graduated in 1890, but continued to live in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

because it was very hard to find work in the Baltic governorates. In 1894, the fifth

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 ...

took place, which led to the formation of Härma's own choir. In 1903, as financial problems overwhelmed her, Härma moved to

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, Governorate of Saint Petersburg. She had to leave the city in 1915 because of the beginning of 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 ...

, as no civilians were allowed to stay there. Despite the fact that music had rapidly developed in

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 ...

, it was still hard to find a job as a music teacher, since there were almost no students due to the war. In 1917, Härma became a music teacher in a school that is now the Miina Härma Gymnasium. Härma died on November 16, 1941, in Tartu. She is buried in the Raadi Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harma, Miina 1864 births 1941 deaths People from Tartu Parish People from Kreis Dorpat Estonian organists Estonian choral conductors 19th-century Estonian composers 20th-century Estonian composers Estonian women composers 19th-century organists 20th-century organists Women organists Estonian women conductors (music) 19th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Estonian conductors (music) 20th-century women composers 19th-century women composers Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni Recipients of the Military Order of the Cross of the Eagle Burials at Raadi cemetery Composers from the Russian Empire 19th-century Estonian musicians 20th-century Estonian women musicians 19th-century Estonian women musicians