Helilooja Aleksander Läte, TaM F107 (F85-1)

Aleksander Läte (12 January 1860, in Pikasilla, Aakre Parish,

Kreis Dorpat Kreis Dorpat (''Tartu kreis'', ''Дерптский уезд'', 1893-1918 ''Юрьевский уезд'') was one of the nine subdivisions of the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the northeastern part of the gover ...

– 8 September 1948, in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast o ...

) was an

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

n composer, conductor and music critic. He is also known as the first Estonian professional music critic.In 1895, he started his education at

Dresden Conservatory Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth l ...

and graduated it in choir composition speciality. On the initiative of Läte, the first Estonian symphony orchestra was founded in 1900 in Tartu. In 1900, Läte moved to Tartu, where there were more opportunities to practice music. In 1908, he was forced to withdraw from practical music work due to illness, but continued to work as a composer. In addition to composing, he wrote various scientific articles, was a music reviewer for Postimehe for a long time. Aleksander Läte can be considered the first Estonian professional music critic. Since 1932, he led the piano factory Sprenk-Läte, located in Tartu.Since 1945, he was a member of

Estonian Composers' Union Estonian Composers' Union (abbeviation ECU; et, Eesti Heliloojate Liit) is an Estonian creative union which encompasses professional composers and musicologists in Estonia. The chairman of ECU is Märt-Matis Lill Märt-Matis Lill (born 6 Novemb ...

. He is buried in Rõngu cemetery . His grave is recognized as a cultural monument. His brother was the piano master Eugen Sprenk-Läte (1871–1932), who ran the J. Moritz piano factory in Tartu, but was later a business manager. Founded his own piano workshop in Tartu in 1926, where he made pianos. Aleksander Läte continued his brother's work after his death.

Works

* Five Cantatas * Kalevala (overture) (1901) * Eesti tants (for symphony orchestra, 1904) * Tempo di mazurka (for symphony orchestra, 1904)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Late, Aleksander 1860 births 1948 deaths People from Tõrva Parish People from Kreis Dorpat Estonian composers Estonian conductors (music) People's Artists of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic