Talivaldis Kenins

Tālivaldis Ķeniņš (b. Liepaja, April 22, 1919 - d. Toronto, January 21, 2008) [ [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/Deaths.20080125.93137220/BDAStory/BDA/deaths Obituary] . "The Globe and Mail"] was a Canadian composer born in Latvia.

Kenins's father was a lawyer, poet and government official, and his mother was a journalist. He first began playing piano at the age of five, and his first compositions followed at age eight. [http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2008/01/23/composer-kenins.html Canadian Composer Talivaldis Kenins Dies at 88] . CBC, January 23, 2008.] Initially, he studied to be a diplomat at the Lycee Champollion in Grenoble, but moved to Riga between 1940 and 1944, studying composition and piano under Joseph Wihtol. He then studied at the Paris Conservatory under Olivier Messiaen and others from 1945 to 1951, and won first prize there for his Cello Sonata. [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009588 Talivaldis Kenins] at the Canadian Encyclopedia] In 1951 his Septet was performed at the Darmstadt New Music Festival, conducted by Hermann Scherchen; that same year he married Valda Dremaine, moved to Canada, and was named organist at the Latvian Lutheran St. Andrews Church in Toronto. In 1952 he began teaching at the University of Toronto, where he taught for 32 years. Canadian musicologist Paul Rapoport has credited Kenins with introducing many European idioms to Canadian art music in an era when many of its composers remained solidly influenced by British models. Among his students were Edward Laufer, Walter Kemp, Bruce Mather, Imant Raminsh, Arthur Ozolins, Tomas Dusatko, James Rolfe, and Ronald Smith.

Works

*"Cello Sonata" (1950), "Violin Sonata No. 2" (1979)
*3 piano sonatas
*2 piano quartets
*"Septet" (1951)
*8 Symphonies, including No. 1 (1959), No. 4 (1972), No. 6 "Sinfonia ad Fugam" (1978), No. 7 (1980), No. 8 (1986)
*12 Concertos, including "Concerto for Viola and Orchestra", "Concerto for Violin and Orchestra" and "Concert for 14 Instruments"
*"Beatae Voces Tenebrae" for symphony orchestra
*"Scherzo Concertante"
*3 cantatas
*1 oratorio

References