Composers > Mārtiņš Viļums

Mārtiņš Viļums

"Everything and nothing. Past and present.
No comment."

Mārtiņš Viļums

BIOGRAPHY

The composer and accordion player Mārtiņš Viļums was born on March 3rd, 1974 in Riga, he studied accordion at the Mediņš Music School (1991–1996) and then composition at the Vītols Latvian State Academy of Music preparatory class with Pēteris Plakidis (1995–1996). He also studied accordion at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Composition with Osvaldas Balakauskas (1996–1997), and then focused only on composition with Julius Juzeliunas and Rimantas Janeliauskas (1997–2001) obtaining his Bachelor’s degree. In 2002 he continued studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music in the Master’s program with Rimantas Janeliauskas. His topic concerns the understanding of aspects of time in 20th century music. In 2004, he received his master’s degree and began his post graduate studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music.

His string quartet Sansara obtained first prize in the Latvian Philharmonic and Latvian Composers’ Union’s organized competition (1996); the work also received wide acceptance at the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers in Paris (1997) and the Luciano Berio Festival in Japan (at the Tokyo Opera); at concerts in Lithuania, and in Russia. Many of his other works have received premieres in Lithuania (at the festivals Vilnius muzika and Druskomania, and at the Kaunas Electronic Music Festival. The composition Le temps scintille by Mārtiņš Viļums has won at the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers in Vienna (2005).

He has also appeared as a performer in concerts and festivals in Latvia and abroad and may be seen in several Lithuanian short feature films. He has worked as music literature specialist at the Children’s Studio of the Lithuanian Academy of Music (2001).


DISCOGRAPHY

Everything and Nothing. Past and Present / Inga Martinsone (mezzo-soprano), chamber ensemble, Conductor Kaspars Putniņš – 11’45” // Per musicam ad lucem – 2006, MASF

Le temps scintille for mixed vocal group / Latvian Radio Chamber Singers, Conductor Kaspars Putniņš – 12’09” // Winning Music. Award Winning Compositions by Latvian Composers – 2006, LMIC 007

String Quartet No. 2 / String Quartet Diference: Sandra Grase, Ilze Pence, Una Vikštrēma, Līga Veilande; Edgars Saksons (timpani) – 7’10” // Latvian String Quartets. Latviešu stīgu kvarteti – 2008, LMIC 015


LITERATURE

A. Dzenītis, Mākslīgā elpināšana Vāgnera zālē (Artificial Respiration in the Wagner Hall) [about the premiere of the First String Quartet, and others] // Literatūra un Māksla. Mēs. September 26th/October 3rd, 1996 • I. Lūsiņa, Introvertie baltieši (The Introverted Balts) [about the premiere of the work Everything and Nothing. Past and Present] // Diena, in the attachment Izklaide, April 19th, 2002 • J. Petraškevičs, Iz iespaidiem Arēnā (On Impressions in the Arena) [about concerts of the festival Arēna, including the premiere of the work Le temps scintille] // Mūzikas Saule, No. 6, 2003, 55


Guntars Pupa, supplemented by Mārīte Dombrovska
Photo - Edmunds Mickus
© LMIC