Imants Kalniņš

Who is Imants Kalniņš?

Imants Kalniņš 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, 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, 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 together with Juris Kulakovs and Juris Sējāns. The oratorio was the first thing played by the band Pērkons 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. However, the band never gained the recognition and adoration that Menuets and Pērkons did.