Imants Kalniņš

Imants Kalniņš Born May 26 1941 In Riga Latvia Is One Of The Most Important Composers In The History Of Latvian Music. Having Studied Classical As Well As Choral Music He Has Written Six Symphonies Several Operas Including The First Rock Opera In The USSR - Ei Jūs Tur!/ "Hey You There!" Oratorios Cantatas Choir Songs A Lot Of Movie And Theater Music. However He Is Generally Best Known For His Rock Songs And Is To Be Considered The First Composer Of Intellectual Rock Music. During The 1960s Kalniņš Led The Liepāja Rock Band 2xBBM Which Was Extremely Loved Because Of Its Heartfelt Songs And Hippy-Like Lifestyle. Kalniņš Became The Symbol Of The Spirituality Rebellion And Worldview Of The Generation And It Was Emphasized By The Fact The Band Was Forced To Stop Playing Because Of The Pressure From Official Institutions. However This Doesn't Stop The Music Of Kalniņš From Being Heard - It Is Played By The Incredibly Popular Band Menuets Latvian For 'minuet' Which Plays Songs Almost Exclusively By Kalniņš. During The 1970s Kalniņš Returned To Writing Symphonic Music. In 1984 He Wrote The Rock Oratorio Kā Jūra Kā Zeme Kā Debess/ "Like The Sea Like The Earth Like The Sky" Together With Juris Kulakovs And Juris Sējāns. The Oratorio Was The First Thing Played By The Band Pērkons 'Thunder' For The General Public. With It Kalniņš Returned To Rock And Roll Once More. He Wrote Many New Songs For Pērkons And These Same Songs Led Him To Start His Own Band Turaidas Roze 'The Rose Of Turaida' . However The Band Never Gained The Recognition And Adoration That Menuets And Pērkons Did. Lately Imants Kalniņš Has Been Working Together With The Well-Known Latvian Musician Ainārs Mielavs And Their Collaboration Has Resulted In Some Of The Most Excellent Albums Containing Primarily Music By Kalniņš Such As Par Lietām Kuras Tā Ar Nekad Nepāriet/ "About Things That Never Truly Go Away" 1997 Es Redzēju Sapnī/ "I Saw In A Dream" 1998 And I Love You 1999 Despite The Title The Lyrics Are Mostly In Latvian In This Album . read less