Jāzeps Vītols
1863 - 1948
The father of Latvian classical music, Vitols learned his trade under the Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov.
He moved to a newly independent Latvia in 1918 initially as a conductor before establishing the Latvian Conservatory of Music.
As a composer his style was perhaps conservative for the early 20th century, but perhaps that has made it more enduring.
Whilst undoubtedly a composer of great renown his later life was overshadowed by the events of the Second World War.
He continued to run the Latvian Conservatory of Music under Nazi occupation and in 1944 moved to Lübeck where he died in 1948.
Unlike others, I enjoyed it. It reminded me of Bantock at first & therefore a required taste. Good to see Latvian composers being highlighted & he lived to a good age too all things considered.
Did you know our old friend Wagner lived and worked in Riga when a young man? Maybe he counts as a Latvian composer? He composed "Rienzi" there