Ester Mägi (10 January 1922 – 14 May 2021) was an Estonian composer.

Biography

Her compositional output is substantial and represents all genres, from chamber and vocal music to choral and highly regarded symphonic works. She trained initially under

Mart Saar Mart Saar ( in Hüpassaare – 28 October 1963) was an Estonian composer, organist and collector of folk songs. Childhood Saar was born in the small borough of Hüpassaare (now in Karjasoo, Suure-Jaani Parish), Kreis Fellin in the Livonia ...

at the

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

Conservatory, then from 1951 to 1954 at the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

under

Vissarion Shebalin Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin (; 29 May 1963) was a USSR, Soviet composer, music pedagogue. Rector of the Moscow Conservatory (1942-1948). People's Artist of the RSFSR (1947). Biography Shebalin was born in Omsk, where his parents were school t ...

. Amongst her best-known works are her Piano Sonata (1949), Piano Trio in F minor (1950), Piano Concerto (1953), Violin Concerto (1958), Symphony (1968), Variations for Piano, Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra (1972), ''Bukoolika'' for orchestra (1983) and ''Vesper'' for violin and piano/organ (1990, arranged for strings in 1998). Much of her work has been inspired by

Estonian folk music The recorded history of music in Estonia dates as far back as the 12th century. History The earliest mentioning of Estonian singing and dancing dates back to Saxo Grammaticus' ''Gesta Danorum'' (c. 1179). Saxo speaks of Estonian warriors who ...

. Mägi died in May 2021 at the age of 99.Suri helilooja Ester Mägi
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References

External links

Bio of Ester Mägi by Urve Lippus on the Toccata Classics website

CD release of Mägi's orchestral music

Ester Mägi at the Estonian Music Information Centre

Ester Mägi (1922) (Music Export Estonia)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Magi, Ester 1922 births 2021 deaths Musicians from Tallinn Estonian women classical composers Soviet classical composers Soviet women classical composers 20th-century Estonian musicians 20th-century Estonian composers 20th-century women composers 21st-century women composers 21st-century Estonian classical composers Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni Moscow Conservatory alumni People's Artists of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic Honoured Workers of the Arts Industry of the Estonian SSR Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 5th Class