Leonīds Vīgners

Leonīds Vīgners (November 10, 1906 in Moscow – December 23, 2001 in Riga) was a Latvian composer, conductor and teacher.

Life
Leonīds Vīgners was the son of the conductor and composer Ernest Vīgners.

In 1928 he graduated from the Riga Conservatory. He later studied in Switzerland with Felix von Weingartner in Basel. Between 1930 and 1939 he conducted the choir "Dziedonis". From 1936 to 1944 he was a conductor at the Latvian National Opera and assistant to the principal guest conductor Leo Blech. After that he was chief conductor of the Opera and Ballet Theater until 1949 and at the same time, for two seasons, artistic director of the Latvian Philharmonic Orchestra. From 1947 he taught at the conservatory. After its conversion to the Music Academy Jāzeps Vītols he was a professor there from 1961. In 1947 he founded the choir "Mūza", which he directed for many years.

From the 1950s to the 1970s he was - with one break - chief conductor of the Latvian Radio Orchestra. In addition, he conducted other important choirs in Latvia.

In 1973 he conducted the premiere of Imants Kalniņš's 4th Symphony in Riga.

Leonīds Vīgners supported the Singing Revolution. At the 20th Latvian Song Festival, celebrated from June 30 to July 8, 1990, he conducted songs whose public performance had been banned since Latvia's occupation by the Soviet Union.

Leonīds Vīgners was buried in the Riga Forest Cemetery.

In 2007, the Vīgners monument was placed in front of the Latvian National Opera.