Dārziņš Emīls, *3 November 1875 Jaunpiebalga, †31 August 1910 Riga, Latvian composer and music critic. From 1898 to 1901 he studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory with L. Homilius (organ) and N. Rimsky-Korsakov (composition). From 1901 he lived in Riga, where he developed his compositional and critical work.
During his lifetime, Dārziņš was mainly known as a symphonist, however, all of his orchestral works except the Melanholiskais valsis (The Melancholic Waltz) have been lost, as has almost the entire score of his opera Rožainās dienas (only fragments of the piano reduction survive). Today, Dārziņš is considered one of the first prominent creators of Latvian vocal lyricism, with particular attention to his choral songs of high expressive value, stylistically approaching modernism and based on a system of quasi-symphonic thematic and textural development. As one of the first professional Latvian music critics, Dārziņš is regarded as a pioneer of musical thought in Latvia.
Literature: Emīls Dārziņš. Piemiņas krājums (‘Emīls Dārziņš, celebratory publication’), ed. V. Pengerots, Riga 1925.
Compositions:
for orchestra, including Melanholiskais valsis (The Melancholic Waltz) 1904
numerous solo songs
choral songs, including Lauztās priedes (‘Broken Pines’), Sapņu tālumā (‘In Distant Dreams’), Senatne (‘Bygone Times’)
opera Rožainās dienas (‘Rosy Days’)
Editions:
Dziesmas balsij ar klavierēm (‘songs for voice and piano’), Riga 1959
Dziesmas koriem (‘choral songs’), Riga 1960
Writings:
Alfreds Kalniņš, Riga 1907
Par operas izcelšanos (‘on the origin of the opera’), Riga 1907
Jazeps Vītols, Riga 1908
Per mūziku (‘on music’), ed. J. Vītoliņš, Riga 1951 (a collections of writings)
Raksti (‘writings), ed. A. Darkevics, Riga 1975
