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Andris Dzenītis
is one of the most talented, creative and internationally recognised Latvian composers of his generation.
Critics describe music by Andris Dzenītis as expressive, saturated, rich in colors. Polarized in it’s contrasts. At the same time, it can be openly emotional, boilingly hot, and meditative, alienated, experiencing long lasting, gradual changes of different states. Music by Dzenītis is filled with contemplation, nature, a pantheistically silent sense of the unity of all. Very personal in its spirituality. Music, as a language, is an abstract form of being. It is as abstract as nature and the universe around us - everyone is free to translate audible information, despite of composer’s personal idea in many ways - this is Andris Dzenītis belief, not always being keen on an in-depth explanation of the content of his works.
Contrasts, diverse forms of musical gestures characterize both his individual works, as well as his entire oeuvre as a whole - the ability to change radically, while preserving his own musical elements, recognizable to a connoisseur of his music, is a very characteristic feature of Dzenītis music.
His works are often characterized by an undisguised contemporary-romantic language, mainly based on the intuitive form of organization of musical material. Separate, semi-rationally formed elements are rarely found in his music, more often connected with research in the language of timbre, rhythm and texture.
In the music of recent years, the composer has returned to research in the tonal and modal sound field, looking for new possibilities of spatiality, sphericity, and timbral colors in already well known sound systems. In working with traditions, he uses randomness, deep intuition, sometimes - deliberate ignoring of classical laws, as a principle in the creation and development of his harmonic or melodic patterns.
His central interest is symphonic, choral music, music for large ensembles, where the talent of Andris Dzenītis instrumentation is often prized, the sense of spatial texture of large sound organisms. At the same time, a large number of works have also been created in the field of chamber music.
A special interest is in electronic music, in which Dzenītis crosses the boundaries of genres, being more passionate about free improvisation, the boundaries between the natural beauty of sound and noise.
Performers
His music has been performed in Latvia and abroad: at the Warsaw Autumn Festival (1997, 2013), the Gaida Festival in Vilnius (1998, 2002), at Spelplan Stockholm (2002), Maerzmusik Berlin (2003), Nyyd in Tallinn (2003), Arena in Riga (2002-2012), Bergen music festival (2005), Klangspuren Schwaz (2005), Time of music, Viitasari (2006), ISCM World Music Days (Hong Kong 2007,Beijing 2018, Tallinn 2019), Musica Viva (2012) and elsewhere by significant latvian and international ensembles and musical formations like Leipzig Gewandhaus and Boston symphony orchestras, conducted by Andris Nelsons, Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica, Ensemble Modern under direction of Peter Eotvos, Anu Tali and Klemens Heil, Radio symphony orchestra Berlin, Netherlands Radio symphony orchestra, Belgian National symphony orchestra, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbruecken - Kaiserlautern, Orquesta philharmonica de Gran Canaria, Basque National symphony orchestra, Valencia symphony orchestra, Wroclaw symphony orchestra and Latvian National symphony orchestra under Karel Mark Chichon and many others. Among other performers there are organist Iveta Apkalna, SWR Vokalensemble, Mivos and Silesian string quartets, Latvian radio choir, Latvian State choir Latvia, Riga chamber players, Sinfonietta Riga, wind quintet Carion, Kroumata percusion ensemble, Paragon esnemble Glasgow, Reinbert Evers and Pierrot Lunaire Ensemble Wien, Caput (Iceland).
As a sound artist coloborated with number of latvian visual atrists among them Oļegs Kļimovics and Gints Gabrāns which instalation Parahypnotic participated in international bienale for arts in Venice (2007).
Schools
Born in Riga (23.01.1978), Latvia, Andris Dzenītis started composing in his early school years, later studied composition with Pēteris Vasks at the Emīls Dārziņš Music School (1993-96) in Riga. His Sonata for Violin and Piano Pamestie.. (Deserted) was awarded the chamber music prize (1994) by the Latvian Composers’ Union when he was only 16. Immediately after the school as a Herder Scholarship winner he studied composition at the Vienna School of Music and Drama with Kurt Schwertsik (1996-97),receiving his first commission for a respectable festival "Warsaw autumn" being only 18 years old. Dzenītis continued his studies at the Latvian State Academy of Music with Pēteris Plakidis (1997-99) and then at the Lithuanian Music Academy with Osvaldas Balakauskas (1999-2003) where he also qualified for his Master’s degree. He has taken part in several young composers’ seminars at Ivanov (Russia, 1995), Boswil (Switzerland, 1996), and attended workshop in Stockholm with Magnus Lindberg, Pär Lindgren and Bent Sorensen in 2002.
Teaching and writings
Dzenītis was active as a music critic and journalist,curently being less involved in this field, mostly writing essays about music. Andris Dzenītis is successful and demanded in music pedagogy, worked as a lecturer at the Latvian Academy of Culture (2002 - 2004), working now as a teacher of composition and theoretical disciplines at Emīls Dārziņš music school and city of Ventspils music school. Number of his former students are already composers with growing international careers. As a teacher Andris Dzenītis is having deep interest in disciplines of contemporary music aesthetics, psychology, physics of sound, orchestration and music history.
He was also the organiser and director of the biannual international Young Composers’ mastercourses at Dundaga (2002 - 2006), Mazsalaca (2008, 2010, 2014,2016) and Cēsis (2012) in Latvia.
Awards
Andris Dzenītis was three times awarded Great music prize - highest musical award in Latvia for his Fides.Spes.Caritas (2006), concerto for saxophone and orchestra E(GO) (2014), 2nd symphony Warm wind (2022) and was ten (!) times nominated for the same prize in the years 2008 (two pieces), 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2017, 2020 and 2022. He is also awarded Eternity prize by Latvian copyright agency by most played contemporary pieces (2003 and 2014). His music for movies Workshop in the countryside, Exiled was nominated for national cinematography prize Lielais Kristaps for best music (2004 and 2016) and was awarded the same prize in 2017 for music of movie Firstborn. Seven Madrigals by E.E.Cummings for mezzo-soprano and six instruments is awarded 1.prize in International Jurgenson competition for young composers, Moscow (2005). Dzenītis was also a stipendiar of Latvian Ministry of Culture (2004) Postludium. Ice for symphony orchestra awarded musical piece of the year by latvian radio 3 Classics in 2009 and received award in culture by Latvian newspaper Diena (2010). Saxophone concerto E(GO) awarded title of musical piece of the year by latvian radio 3 Classics in 2014.
Electronic music
Dzenītis is live performing with his electronic music group Woodpecker project, founded back in 2006. Woodpecker project is an alternative music project, diving into improvised music, influenced by noise, free jazz, heavy metal and dark ambient drone music. Members of this group are playing hardware synthesizers only. Since year 2024 Andris Dzenītis is recording and performing solo projects under the name of Woodpecker Öö.