THE TESTIMONY OF THE LITTLE-KNOWN LATE LETTERS OF JĀZEPS VĪTOLS TO IRENE NARVAIT

Abstract

The previously unpublished letters from Jāzeps Vītols (1863–1948) to Irene Narvait (also Irēne Narvaite, 1914–2009, after 1939 – in Germany), a graduate of his composition theory class at the Latvian Conservatory that he himself established, is a valuable primary source that provides a compact testimony  about the final years of the Latvian music composer, providing a view of his aesthetic beliefs, world view and his creative credo. It enriches the understanding of the European cultural panorama, influenced by the dramatic course of history in the first half of the 20th century.