Lūcija Garūta (1902 - 1977) Latvia

Pianist, composer and poet born in Riga, she studied piano and composition at the Latvian Conservatory and then in Paris with teachers such as Paul Dukas and Alfred Cortot.

I'm sharing with you the first piece I heard from her: Piano Trio in Bb major. You can see the score in the video itself.

---

She was a prominent pianist and accompanist during the 1920s and 1930s, and later a professor at the Latvian Conservatory, where she was appointed professor in 1960.

Her performing career ended in the 1940s due to illness, but she continued teaching until her death in 1977. In honor of Garūta, a biennial competition for young pianists is held in Latvia. In the following video, you can listen her four piano preludes, and also see the score.

---

Lūcija was best known for her cantata Dievs, Tava zeme deg! ("God, Your Land Is Burning!"), composed in 1943, which is considered one of the most important works in Latvia's cultural canon. Composed during the Nazi occupation, this cantata with text by Andrejs Eglītis expresses the suffering of the Latvian people. Its 1944 premiere was recorded amid sounds of battle, and the work was banned after the Soviet occupation. In 1982, it was recovered by Latvian exiles, and after decades of silence, it was performed again in Latvia in 1990 during the Singing Revolution. Since then, it has been performed internationally. Listen to it here in the video below.

And visit the Lūcija Garūta webpage :) https://garuta.lv/

.