“You wake up in the morning and already feel happy that you can be part of this world!” says composer Imants Kalniņš. This spirit also permeated an event dedicated to his music and the book “Zvaigžņu ielas simfonija – Imants Kalniņš” (“Star Street Symphony – Imants Kalniņš”) at Vecumnieki Music and Art School. Two choirs performed the composer’s songs to a packed hall, followed by a meeting with the book’s author, Linda Apse.
“What was initially planned as a meeting with readers turned into a moving concert of Imants Kalniņš’s music,” says Linda Apse.
The event was organised at the initiative of local librarians and the school. The librarians had originally planned to host a meeting with the author at the library. However, when the school’s director heard about the idea, she suggested adding a concert: “How could we possibly do without Imants Kalniņš’s music?! Our choirs have always sung his songs, and they will sing them on this occasion too!”
The composer’s songs were performed by both younger and older singers. After the concert, audience members spoke with Linda Apse about the making of the book, memoir writing, writing and reading, and the composer’s talent — where it comes from and whether it can be explained at all.
Kalniņš’s music also holds personal significance for Linda Apse. In the book’s introduction, she writes: “For me personally, Imants Kalniņš’s compositions are the most vivid expression of contemporary Latvian sensibility in music.” She describes their influence as formative, moving and patriotic: the composer’s music once helped her find her place in the free-spirited world of hippie culture, while today it helps her cultivate a greater sensitivity.
The author emphasises music’s ability to move, comfort and inspire, allowing people to step back from everyday life and feel part of something greater. “The composer says that his world takes shape as he writes music. I would venture to say that, through listening to music, the world reveals itself,” Linda Apse writes in the introduction.
“Zvaigžņu ielas simfonija – Imants Kalniņš” is the fifth book and fourth biography published by Vincentbooks. Entrepreneur Māris Martinsons conceived the series and has provided financial support for all five publications. Since 2021, the publisher has also released “De Profundis – Mārtiņš Rītiņš”, “Manas [ie]spējas – Māris Verpakovskis”, “Lielmeistares atklātnes – Dana Reizniece-Ozola” and “Pavārgrāmata Mārtiņam”.
The gathering in Vecumnieki demonstrated how a book’s life continues through conversations with readers and new musical events.
After the event, Linda Apse also called Imants Kalniņš to share her experience. The composer wanted to know which choirs had participated, which songs they had sung and who had conducted them.
Meanwhile, work continues on a catalogue of the composer’s works. According to Linda Apse, access to the conservatory’s archives and other materials has made it possible to gather more information than originally anticipated. Previously unperformed choral songs have also been discovered, attracting interest from conductor Ints Teterovskis and the choir Balsis.
The work that began with the book thus continues through research into the composer’s musical legacy and through gatherings where his life story and music reach listeners and readers.
