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Irma Jaunzeme

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Birth Date:
27.09.1897
Death date:
17.04.1975
Person's maiden name:
Irma Jaunzeme
Extra names:
Ирма Яунзем, Ирма Петровна Я́унзем, Irma Jaunzema
Categories:
Related to Latvia, Singer
Nationality:
 latvian
Cemetery:
Moscow, Donskoy Cemetery

Irma Jaunzem, also Jaunzeme was a Latvian-Belarusian mezzo-soprano singer and educator. Initially performing with small ensembles, she soon began to specialize in Belarusian folk songs which she collected from her travels to villages throughout the country. She subsequently extended her research to the four corners of the Soviet Union. From the late 1920s until 1967, she performed as a soloist with the Moscow Philharmonic Society.

Biography

Born on 27 September 1897 in Minsk, Irma Jaunzem was the daughter of Peteris Jaunzems (also Pyotr Jaunsem) and Evelina Martynovna who were both Latvians.

After matriculating from high school, she studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory under the soprano Xenia Dorliak. She was also assisted by the Lavian composer Jāzeps Vītols when he became aware of her Latvian origins. He introduced her to the Latvian community's choral association which inspired her interest in Latvian folk music.

She apparently did not complete her studies at the Conservatory. In 1917, she returned to Minsk for the summer holidays but as a result of the commotion caused by the Russian revolution, she was forced to earn a living by working with small musical groups performing in provincial theatres. After the hostilities ceased, she performed with two budding young musicians, the pianist Vladimir Horowitz and the violinist Nathan Milstein.

 It was then she embarked on visits to Belarusian villages where she discovered a wealth of folk songs, one of which was the popular Песня пастуха (The Song of the Shepherd). Thanks to her discoveries, she included Belaruian folk songs in her performances in the country's most prominent theatres, gaining the support of the Belarusian authorities and becoming a soloist with the Moscow Philharmonic Society in 1925.

From the mid-1920s, Jaunzem toured more widely, performing in China, Korea and Japan as well as in the 1927 World Music Exhibition in Frankfurt.

In the 1930s, encouraged by the Academy of Sciences work in Lenningrad in support of folklore research, she undertook tours of Central Asia, documenting the local folk songs. Her repertoire ultimately included several thousand folk songs. During the Second World War, she performed for troops on the front. In the 1950s, she began work as an educator in the All Russian Variety Workshop and the Ippolitov-Ivanov School.

Irma Jaunzem died on 17 April 1975 and is buried in Moscow.

Awards

In 1957, Jaunzem was awarded the People’s Artist of the RSFSR and in 1967 the Order of the Red Banner of Labour.

Source: wikipedia.org

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        Relation nameRelation typeBirth DateDeath dateDescription
        1
        Pēteris JaunzemsFather
        2
        Evelīna JaunzemeMother00.00.1937
        3
        Elfrīda JaunzemeSister00.00.1904
        4
        Flora JaunzemeSister00.00.189900.12.1940
        5
        Evelīna JaunzemeSister00.00.1901
        6
        Grigorijs VengerovskisHusband
        7Михаил  ФрунзеМихаил ФрунзеFriend02.02.188531.10.1925
        8Irina  ArkhipovaIrina ArkhipovaCoworker02.01.192511.02.2010
        9Sergei ProkofievSergei ProkofievCoworker23.04.189105.03.1953
        10Sergei   EisensteinSergei EisensteinCoworker22.01.189811.02.1948
        11Aleksandrs GlazunovsAleksandrs GlazunovsFamiliar29.07.186521.03.1936
        12Kārlis KrūmiņšKārlis KrūmiņšFamiliar25.11.188917.06.1942
        13Augusts KirchensteinsAugusts KirchensteinsFamiliar18.09.187203.11.1963
        14Andrejs VišinskisAndrejs VišinskisFamiliar10.12.188322.11.1954
        15Vilis  LācisVilis LācisFamiliar12.05.190406.02.1966
        16Boris SavinkovBoris SavinkovFamiliar31.01.187907.05.1925
        17Матвей  БлантерМатвей БлантерFamiliar10.02.190327.09.1990
        18Romain RollandRomain RollandFamiliar29.01.186630.12.1944
        19Maxim GorkyMaxim GorkyFamiliar28.03.186818.06.1936
        20Jāzeps VītolsJāzeps VītolsTeacher26.07.186324.04.1948
        21Lyudmila ZykinaLyudmila ZykinaStudent10.06.192901.07.2009
        22Olga  VoronetsOlga VoronetsStudent12.02.192602.08.2014

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