Liis Jürgens (Viira) (born Jürgens; years 2010-2020 Viira; born 7 April 1983) is an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n composer,

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

ist, and

animator An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...

. She has also used the pseudonym Liz Wirestring.

Life and career

Liis Jürgens has written quite diverse music for orchestras and choirs as well as chamber music and electroacoustic improvisations. Despite being one of the best-known harp players in Estonia and a member of Estonian State Symphony Orchestra, she often uses harp along with non-classical instruments. She has admitted her compositions for human voice are difficult for singers as she uses voice like just another instrument. Jürgens tends to stress the importance of lyrics, and has often composed her own due to lack of poetry intrinsically harmonic with the music. Jürgens has also been playing in ensembles Una Corda and Lippajad. She has composed music for film, like Eleonore de Montesquieu's documentary ''Paldiski'' (2005). In 2012, Viira's ''Liivaterade raamat'' represented Estonia on

International Rostrum of Composers The International Rostrum of Composers (IRC) is an annual forum organized by the International Music Council that offers broadcasting representatives the opportunity to exchange and publicize pieces of contemporary classical music. It is funded by c ...

run yearly by

International Music Council The International Music Council (IMC) was created in 1949 as UNESCO's advisory body on matters of music. The original request of the foundation of the IMC was under the Director of the UNESCO. It is based at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris, France, ...

.NYYD-MUUSIKA. Liis Viira "Liivaterade raamat"
Estonian National Broadcasting, 2012 In the end of 2015, Viira and Margo Kõlar gained a lot of media coverage with their ''Baby Symphony'' (''Reverbeebi'') presented on

Estonian Music Days Estonian Music Days () is a music festival which focuses on Estonian contemporary music. Since 1993 the festival take place annually and in spring. The festival is organized by Estonian Composers' Union in collaboration with Estonian Music Informa ...

. In that project consisting of several small compositions, babies' voices were used along with the instruments and lyrics by Doris Kareva. The premiere was presented by Collegium Musicale chamber choir and accompanied by dancers from Tallinn Ballet School. Later, it was used as a musical installation in Estonian Theatre and Music Museum.Helilooja Liis Viira kutsub beebihäältega eksperimenteerima
Külauudised, 3. märts 2016 Her newer composition, ''Root Bridge'' (2016), mixing instruments with voice improvisation and led by Robert Jürjendal on

touch guitar The touch guitar is a stringed instrument of the guitar family which has been designed to use a tapping, fretboard-tapping playing style. Touch guitars are meant to be touched or tapped, not strummed. History The touch or tapping technique was ...

, was characterized by music critic Maria Mölder as a "unique breathtaking world of sound achieved by the harmony of different instruments", based on a "less is more" approach.Maria Mölde
Juurtest sild ja teised

Sirp ''Sirp'' (; formerly ''Sirp ja Vasar'', 'sickle and hammer') is a newspaper published in Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from F ...

, February 5, 2016

Education

* 2002

Tallinn Music High School Tallinn Music High School () was a special music high school in Tallinn, Estonia. History TMHS was founded in 1961 to ensure a sufficient number of quality applicants to the Tallinn State Conservatory (now Estonian Academy of Music and Theatr ...

(

with ,

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

with Alo Põldmäe) * 2002–2009 Estonian Academy of Music (harp with Eda Peäske, composition with Helena Tulve, additionally

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

with Margo Kõlar and improvisation with and ) * 2005/2006 as an exchange student in

University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university established in 1817 located in Vienna. With a student body of over three thousand, it is the largest institution of its kind in Austria, and one of t ...

with professor Adelheid Blovsky-Miller's harp class * Since 2012, Estonian Academy of Arts (animation)

Works

* ''Half-Mirrors'' (1998) * ''Port Area'' (2001) * ''RedBlueYellow'' (2002) * ''Labyrinth Harp Play'' (2002) * ''Coastline'' (2003) * ''Lullaby'' (2004) * ''Invisible'' (2005) * ''Streamline'' (2006/2007) * ''digitalis purpurea'' (2007) * ''Honeycomb Music'' (2008) * ''Butterfly Cathers'' * ''Snowy Christmas'' * ''Spider Tectonics'' * ''Chaconne, or 50 Rounds to the Health of Erkki Sven'' * ''Liivaterade raamat'' (''Book of Sand Grains'', 2012) * ''Baby Symphony'' (2015, with Margo Kõlar) * ''Kaheksa'' (''Eight'', 2016)

References

Literature

* Liis Jürgens ''Võlurite ring. Ansambel U: kontserdist'' Muusika 2/2005, p. 18 (A review by Liis Jürgens)

External links

Liis Viira
Association of Estonian Professional Musicians
Liis Viira
Eesti Muusika Infokeskus (in Estonian)
Liis Viira and Margo Kõlar on their Baby Symphony

Postimees is an Estonian daily newspaper established on 5 June 1857, by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. In 1891, it became the first daily newspaper in Estonia. Its current editor-in-chief is Priit Hõbemägi. The paper has approximately 250 employees. ''P ...

, March 25, 2016 (in Estonian) * Maria Mölde
Juurtest sild ja teised
review of Liis Viira's ''Eight'' in

, February 5, 2016 (in Estonian) * Kristi Reban
Interview with Liis Viira

, 2015 (in Estonian)
Timo Steiner, Margo Kõlar, and Liis Viira discussing Baby Symphony
on Estonian Public Broadcasting, April 9, 2015
NYYD-MUUSIKA. Liis Viira "Liivaterade raamat"
radio show on Estonian National Broadcasting, 2012 (in Estonian)
Liis Jürgens
Teater. Muusika. Kino, No. 2, 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Viira, Liis Harpists 1983 births Living people Estonian classical composers Estonian women classical composers Women harpists Musicians from Tallinn Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni 21st-century Estonian composers 21st-century Estonian musicians 21st-century women composers