Melodies & Memories

Biography

The most distinguished writer of Latvian popular music and pianist Raimonds Pauls (born January 12, 1936) is a renowned composer of popular music. His music has been performed in countless countries and in the most prestigious concert halls, and all of this was possible thanks to his unique flair of melody. The fertile creative imagination of Maestro Raimonds Pauls has brought together the intonations of Latvian folk music, jazz, blues, rock’n’roll, French chanson, German schlager and the intona...

The most distinguished writer of Latvian popular music and pianist Raimonds Pauls (born January 12, 1936) is a renowned composer of popular music. His music has been performed in countless countries and in the most prestigious concert halls, and all of this was possible thanks to his unique flair of melody. The fertile creative imagination of Maestro Raimonds Pauls has brought together the intonations of Latvian folk music, jazz, blues, rock’n’roll, French chanson, German schlager and the intonations and elements of national popular songs with the arising trends and always manages to create contemporary and generally attractive music that is at the same time thoroughly democratic.

It is characterized by modern rhythms and arrangements, but a fine feeling of harmony allows the composer to avoid the monotony that plagues many modern pieces of pop music. Unlike many other songwriters, Raimonds Pauls himself is often the interpreter of his own compositions or the concert master of performers. A hallmark of his sound is a very individual, short and accentuately curted stroke that is a distinct characteristic of his style. But he is not afraid to entrust his melodies for the interpretation of other creative groups or to form special bands of performers and produce the sound of his music by himself.

After the brilliant career as a jazz pianist and composer in the 60s, Raimonds Pauls has chosen the medium of song as his major form of expression and at the same time has managed to act out his fantasies as a composer in large staged spectacles - musicals and musical comedies. He always picks the most talented singers and musicians to perform his work and this way he increases the quality of his art to heights unreachable by others. In addition, the bright intuition of Raimonds Pauls continues to surprise with new and unexpected projects, and his creations have been an integral part of Latvian popular music for 50 years, some of them even enjoy the status of folklore. Songs of Raimonds Pauls are popular among listeners of any age not only in Latvia, because many residents of the former Soviet Union took the love towards the excellent music of Raimonds Pauls with them, when they emigrated and Maestro still receives invitations to perform in many countries all over the world. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.