On Monday, 25 July, famous and beloved Latvian conductor, composer, oboist and kokle player Andrejs Jansons passed away in US, where he lived. His work and contribution to Latvian music and culture is recorded in the history of the Song and Dance Celebration. People like him do not die. Andrejs Jansons, his work and personality will always remain in our memory.
«He is one of the strongest pillars of Latvian music. Thank you for the years of cooperation during which he wrote many a page of Latvian composers’ scores. And you’ve always been a man of your word. Now you remain in my memory,» wrote musicologist Arvīds Bomiks on Facebook.
Andrejs Jansons bright personality will remain in the hearts and memories of youngsters with whom he worked tirelessly, leading youth choirs at Katskiļu, Garezera, 2×2 and other summer camps, as well as Latvian Youth Song Celebrations. He often inspired young singers to sing with his unrelenting passion alone.
Andrejs Jansons was born in Riga on 2 October 1938. Fate decided that he and his family flee to Germany after WWII.
In the first post-war years Latvians had their biggest «little Latvia» in exile in Esslingen, South Germany, where Jansons family remained until 1949, when they emigrated to the US.
He received musical education in Norfolk, Virginia, where he was taught to play the oboe. Jansons remained faithful to this musical instrument for many years, as he continued his musical education at Juilliard School. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1960. He then further expanded his performance playing the oboe at Italian State Conservatory in Venice. He was taught conducting at the Manhattan School of Music, where he graduated with Master’s degree in 1973. He studied musical composing in New Jersey’s Rutgers University, where he successfully defended his doctoral thesis in 1986.
Andrejs Jansons’ musical biography is truly rich. After graduating from Juilliard School he played the oboe in Pittsburgh and Baltimore orchestras, as well as American Symphony orchestra. He performed at Broadway, New York City Opera, Metropolitan Opera, American Ballet Theatre and Joffrey Ballet Orchestra, and elsewhere. He was also a guest conductor to US, Canadian and European state orchestras, choirs and ensembles. He also performed as guest conductor with Latvian National Opera, Latvian National Symphonic Orchestra, Lithuania National Symphonic Orchestra, Liepaja Symphonic Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphonic Orchestra, Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Hungarica, Bronx Arts Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Boston Chamber Orchestra, Latvian Armed Forces Orchestra, Riga Orchestra, Balsis Choir, Ave Sol, Fortius Sonore Choir, Latvian Radio Choir, State Choir Latvia and others.
Andrejs Jansons also performed at XX and XXV Song and Dance Celebration, XXVI Latvian Song and Dance Celebration, as well as Youth Song Celebration in US, World Free Latvian Song Days I in Gotland, West Coast VIII and XII, Canada IX, USA X Song Festival and many other Latvian regions’ song festivals as senior conductor.
His musical creed was always: Latvian music – for Latvians and the world.
It is no surprise that when the World Union of Free Latvians awarded Andrejs Jansons the award for «Lifetime contribution to the work of the Latvian society in the USA and bringing Latvian name to the world with music», representatives emphasised: «His burning passion and commitment to promoting Latvian music on both sides of the ocean is worthy of admiration. In parallel to his work, Andrejs Jansons also dedicated a great deal of his life to protecting and preserving Latvian musical values.»
When contacts were being made with Latvian musicians living abroad during the Latvian National Awakening, Andrejs Jansons was one of the most active conductors and composers.
As a composer he has written nearly 50 choir songs and fold song arrangements, 2 cycles of songs, and 20 solo songs. He also passionately worked on promoting musical education among Latvian youths, participated in music camps, education courses and summer camps. He also organised more than ten concert tours in US and Canada for Latvian choirs and soloists.
It is largely thanks to Andrejs Jansons that Latvians grew a love for kokle as a musical instrument. For more than forty years he taught kokle to young and old. He wrote an entire book and has composed and edited an entire volume of kokle repertoires for ensembles. He also read lectures on how to play the kokle, as well as topics like Latvian music and folklore in the periodicals of ethnomusicology at College Music Society and International Folk Music Council conferences.
Andrejs Jansons was also active in musical research and methods, wrote research and read lectures about kokle playing, Latvian music and folklore, and wrote and defended a doctoral thesis on the problems with classification of Latvian folk music.
Throughout his life he was awarded with the Order of the Three Stars (1996), Krišjānis Barons Prize (1967, 1976) and Karlis Gopers Foundation Prize (1972, 1974).