Vytautas Klova

Vytautas Klova (January 31 1926 in Tirkšliai, Mažeikiai district) – Lithuanian composer and educator. His supreme work is opera „Pilėnai“ which is by far considered the most popular Lithuanian opera. [ Garsai ir blyksniai [http://www.mic.lt/lit/garsai_18.htm] ]

Biography

1946-1948 V. Klova was studying in Kaunas Conservatory, in the composition class of professor Juozas Gruodis. 1951 he finished professor's Antanas Račiūnas composition class in Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre which was then called the Lithuanian Conservatory. 1954-1994 V. Klova was a lecturer of music theory in the same academy. 1982 he got his professor's degree.

V. Klova is the author of the first textbook of polyphony. He got Lithuanian SSR State Prize [Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd edition, entry on "Витаутас Клова", available online [http://slovari.yandex.ru/art.xml?art=bse/00035/16400.htm here] ] for his works in 1957 and 1970. [ LMILC [http://www.mic.lt/lit/composer_page.php3?id=103] ]

Works

V. Klova wrote 6 operas. The first one, "Pilėnai", gained huge popularity and was named as classics of Lithuanian opera.

He also harmonised more than 100 Lithuanian folk songs.

Operas

*Pilėnai (1955)
*Vaiva (1957)
*Duktė ("Daughter") (1960)
*Žalgiris (Du kalavijai) ("Grunvald (Two Swords)") (1965 m.)
*Amerikoniškoji tragedija ("American Tragedy") (1968 m.)
*Ave, vita (1974 m.)

References