The Most Famous
COMPOSERS from Latvia
This page contains a list of the greatest Latvian Composers. The pantheon dataset contains 1,216 Composers, 7 of which were born in Latvia. This makes Latvia the birth place of the 28th most number of Composers behind Azerbaijan and Greece.
Top 7
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Latvian Composers of all time. This list of famous Latvian Composers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Pēteris Vasks (1946 - )
With an HPI of 57.02, Pēteris Vasks is the most famous Latvian Composer. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages on wikipedia.
Pēteris Vasks (born 16 April 1946) is a Latvian composer.
2. Raimonds Pauls (1936 - )
With an HPI of 56.53, Raimonds Pauls is the 2nd most famous Latvian Composer. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.
Ojārs Raimonds Pauls (born 12 January 1936) is a Latvian composer and a pianist who is well known in Latvia, Russia, post-Soviet countries and worldwide. He was the Minister of Culture of Latvia from 1988 to 1993.
3. Jāzeps Vītols (1863 - 1948)
With an HPI of 49.74, Jāzeps Vītols is the 3rd most famous Latvian Composer. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
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.
4. Balys Dvarionas (1904 - 1972)
With an HPI of 49.69, Balys Dvarionas is the 4th most famous Latvian Composer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Balys Dvarionas (19 June [O.S. 6 June] 1904 in Liepāja — 23 August 1972 in Vilnius), was a Soviet and Lithuanian composer, pianist, conductor and educator. Dvarionas first became known as a composer after World War II. His works are in a romantic vein, with roots in folk song.
5. Jānis Ivanovs (1906 - 1983)
With an HPI of 47.85, Jānis Ivanovs is the 5th most famous Latvian Composer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Jānis Ivanovs (9 October 1906 – 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 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, violin and cello, three string quartets, and numerous vocal, piano and various chamber works. He became the People's Artist of the USSR in 1965, was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1950 and Latvian SSR State Prize in 1959 and 1970.
6. Alfrēds Kalniņš (1879 - 1951)
With an HPI of 47.54, Alfrēds Kalniņš is the 6th most famous Latvian Composer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Alfrēds Bruno Jānis Kalniņš (23 August 1879, in Cēsis, Governorate of Livonia – 23 December 1951, in Riga, Latvian SSR) was a Latvian composer, organist, pedagogue, music critic and conductor; the founder of national Latvian opera. Kalniņš is primarily remembered for his national opera Baņuta (1920).
7. Ēriks Ešenvalds (1977 - )
With an HPI of 34.68, Ēriks Ešenvalds is the 7th most famous Latvian Composer. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Ēriks Ešenvalds (born 26 January 1977) is a Latvian composer, mainly of choral music. From 2011 to 2013 he was Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College, University of Cambridge.
Pantheon has 7 people classified as composers born between 1863 and 1977. Of these 7, 3 (42.86%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living composers include Pēteris Vasks, Raimonds Pauls, and Ēriks Ešenvalds. The most famous deceased composers include Jāzeps Vītols, Balys Dvarionas, and Jānis Ivanovs.
Living Composers
Go to all Rankings
Pēteris Vasks
1946 - Present
HPI: 57.02
Raimonds Pauls
1936 - Present
HPI: 56.53
Ēriks Ešenvalds
1977 - Present
HPI: 34.68
Deceased Composers
Go to all RankingsJāzeps Vītols
1863 - 1948
HPI: 49.74
Balys Dvarionas
1904 - 1972
HPI: 49.69
Jānis Ivanovs
1906 - 1983
HPI: 47.85
Alfrēds Kalniņš
1879 - 1951
HPI: 47.54
Which Composers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 4 most globally memorable Composers since 1700.
