Tals, Hermanis, Eisenstein and others: 10 people who made Latvia famous all over the world

Arvīds Blumentāls, or Crocodile Harry

/ The man who tamed crocodiles /

In the late 80s, the film “Crocodile Dundee” was released in Hollywood, which took the hearts of all viewers dreaming about exciting adventures. You probably didn’t know that the director of this film – Peter Fayman – was inspired by a real person. We can’t be sure of his exact name, but one of the most likely options is Arvids Blumentals (or simply Harry), a native of Latvia.

Arvids was born in Dundag in 1925, after surviving the Second World War on the Eastern Front, he emigrated to Australia. It could seem like the war would drown out any desire for risk in him for a long time, but Arvids did exactly the opposite: he devoted himself to catching crocodiles. According to legends, he has defeated more than 40,000 of these animals throughout his life. No mercy.

After retiring, Arvids settled in Coober Pedy, an underground mining town in southern Australia, considered the world capital of opals at the time. Harry’s underground nest is an incredibly cinematic cave, where crowds of tourists began to flock after his death.

More than one documentary has been filmed about this man, and there is even a monument dedicated to him in Dundag with a carving that says: “In memory of a strong man.”

Zhanis Lipke

/ He who saved one, saves the whole world /

The real name of Zhanis Lipke is Janis, but he himself preferred to be called Zhanis.

Before the war, Janis was a simple port worker, and in 1941, during the occupation, he got a loader job in the warehouses of squadrons. It was no coincidence that he got a job there – a plan to save the Jews had already matured in his head.

Zhanis’ job involved escorting groups of Jewish workers from the gates of the ghetto to the warehouses where they worked. And that’s how during the war, Zhanis Lipke managed to save 44 Jews: he hid people wherever he could – in a hole dug under the barn on his own land, on the farms of his friends in the region of Dobele, a farm he rented just for this purpose as well as garages in Riga.

He always claimed to not have done anything supernatural – simply fulfilled the direct duty of being human.

During World War II, more than 6 million Jews were killed. It may seem that in comparison to this terrible number, 44 people are negligible. But this is not so – after all, he who saves one – saves the whole world.In 1966, Zhanis and his wife Joanna were awarded the title of “Righteous among the Nations”, and in Riga, on Kipsala, there is a memorial museum dedicated to him.

Gustav Klutsis

/ Artist from the revolution /

Perhaps the name of Gustav Klutsis is unfamiliar to you, but you have surely seen his work.

Klutsis is an avant-garde artist and one of the brightest representatives of constructivism, as well as one of the founders of color photomontage.

Born near a small town of Rujiena, he spent his childhood and youth years in Latvia. He studied art in Valmiera and Riga, and then continued his education in Petrograd and Moscow.

His work “Dynamic City”, assembled from elements of cut out photographs, is considered the first photomontage created in the USSR. This bold violation of the conventional canons of proportion, scale and perspective was a turning point in many directions: from the design of books to the creation of political posters. Although, the main purpose of these photomontages was propaganda.

Klutsis believed in a revolution of the visual arts. He became right hand man to Lenin, who believed in a completely different revolution. This step later turned into a real tragedy for the artist, after the creative freedom turned out to be impossible under a totalitarian regime.Documentary film “Klucis. The Deconstruction of an Artist”, filmed by the Latvian director Pēteris Krilovs, is about this topic.

Gidon Kremer

/ “Music, just like any work of art, lives forever. I enjoy participating in the creation of eternal.”/

If you were born into a family of violinists, it’s no surprise you’d pick up a violin at the age of 4. However, not every hereditary violinist becomes an outstanding musician. But that’s not the case of Gidon Kremer.

Already at the age of 7, he entered the Emila Darzina Riga Music School, after which he continued studying at the Moscow Conservatory. Received his first prestigious award at an international competition in Genoa, and the second in Montreal. After that, true glory began: contest after contest, award besides an award, album after album.

It seemed that communication with Latvia was lost forever. However, in 1997 Kremer founded the chamber orchestra “Kremerata Baltica”, consisting of talented young musicians from the three Baltic countries. Currently Kremerata Baltica has produced more than 30 albums with multiple Grammys and tours around the world.

With amazing skill and sensuality, Kremer performs both the music of already widely acknowledged geniuses (Beethoven, Bach, Schumann, Schubert) and the music of his contemporaries. In 2016 he received the “Praemium Imperiale” – the Nobel Prize for Musicians.Gidon Kremer shared his memories of Riga in the book “Fragments of Childhood”.

Mikhail Eisenstein

/ Local Gaudi /

Mikhail Eisenstein (father of Sergei Eisenstein – significant figure in the world of cinema), although he was not born in Latvia, he created a lot here.

Eisenstein came to Riga from St. Petersburg – and immediately established himself as a talented architect. The timing of his work coincided with the prime of Art Nouveau (better known in Latvia as Jugendstil) – a style that combines functionality and luxury. On Alberta Street in Riga, all even-numbered houses were built by Eisenstein’s designs. Windows and doors in the form of keyholes, swans with outstretched wings, owls over and lions at the entrances – symbolic and simply beautiful decorations.

Thanks to Eisenstein, Riga is still considered one of the main European capitals of Art Nouveau, attracting tourists from all over the world. But works of the master have not been admired always and not by everyone either. Many believed that his projects had too many decorations and excesses, reaching the point of vulgarity. How wrong were those critics?

Raimonds Pauls

/ Real maestro /

When Raymond Pauls was little, his father Voldemar read him a book about the genius of Paganini. Back then he dreamt for his son to become a violinist. But the war started and these plans had to be postponed.

Nevertheless, at the age of 10 Raimonds Pauls entered the Emils Darzins Music School. And after a while, jazz was introduced to his life. It happened the way jazz usually happens: once and for all. Glen Miller and George Gershwin were his main inspirations. However, in Soviet times, jazz was banned: “whoever plays jazz will sell his homeland.” Because of this, many performers switched to popular music. Pauls did the same.

Later, he met with Alla Pugacheva and other performers, for whom he wrote music that was loved and remembered by many. His musical imagination allowed him to create melodies that combine elements of jazz, rock and roll, French chanson and Latvian folk music. His music continues to be performed in various concert halls around the world.

The maestro was awarded the Order of the Three Stars and the Cross of Recognition – the highest state awards in Latvia.

Peteris Vasks

/ “My intention is to provide food for the soul, and that is what I preach in my works.” /

Pēteris Vasks is one of the most famous Latvian composers in the world.

The main themes of his works are the eternal struggle of light and darkness, the confrontation between the past and the future, as well as the history of mankind as whole – with an emphasis on the history of Latvia, of course. That is why he skillfully weaves motives and themes characteristic of Latvian folk music into many of his compositions. That’s how Vasks has managed to tell the story of the Latvian people to the whole world.

In 2022, Pēteris was awarded the Opus Klasik, the most prestigious European classical music prize. Pēteris is also an honorary member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences and the Swedish Royal Academy of Music.

Inese Galante

/ Opera diva developing the Latvian music scene /

Continuing the theme of music, we can’t exclude Inese Galante – an outstanding Latvian opera singer. She once said that “quality music heals the soul and heart.” This is true. The only irony here is that Inese’s first education is as a pharmacist.

Already during her studies at the Music Academy, Inese became a soloist at the Latvian National Opera. In the 1990s she started performing as lead singer at the National Theater Mannheim and the German Opera am Rhein. Her beautiful soprano has been heard in all the most prestigious opera houses in the world.

Now Inese is developing the Latvian music scene. In 2007, she introduced the Summertime festival. The annual festival, traditionally held at the end of summer, gathers the most talented modern classical performers from all over the world on the stage of Dzintara Concert Hall. In one of her interviews, Inese said that she really wanted to return the incredible atmosphere of a summer holiday to Jurmala. And she managed to do it: jazz, funk, rock and roll, Balkan rhythms – people from all over the world started coming to Jurmala to hear masterpieces of these styles.

In 2013, Inese founded the Inese Galante Foundation, with the aims of supporting young performers, cooperating with international cultural organizations and preserving the national cultural heritage. “We want to make culture accessible to every inhabitant of Latvia, regardless of their social status and place of residence. We want to look for and support young Latvian talents, help them improve and develop. I want to give the country what I once received from it – love and knowledge.”

Mikhail Tal

/ Chess Genius /

It may seem that Mikhail Tal was born with a chessboard in his hands. But this, of course, is not the case: Tal has 5 years of higher education at the University of Latvia in the direction of “Russian Language and Literature”.

However, for 48 of the 55 years he lived, he really spent with chess pieces in his hands. At the age of 19, Tal became champion of the USSR, and already at 23 – the world champion (the youngest chess player to have earned this title at the time). The whole world remembers Tal not only as an outstanding player, but as a true “virtuoso” of the game. Almost like an artist of this technical game. He said: “For many of my colleagues, the beauty of the game lies in the triumph of logic. Wonderful chess game is like a classic building with perfect proportions. There’ve been many times when I achieved my goals with the help of common sense, but I still honor the triumph of irrationality, illogicality, absurdity.” This is the case of the beauty of logic losing to the effect of paradox. And the paradox here was Tal himself.

In 2014, the composer Kristaps Petersons staged the avant-garde opera-lecture “Mikhail and Mikhail play chess”. The performance talks about reasons for the incredible popularity of this game during the Cold War, but most importantly – about the phenomenon of Mikhail Tal.

Alvis Hermanis

/ “Art is a minefield. Who is brave, welcome” /

The New Riga Theater is one of the most popular theaters in Riga today. Tickets for performances are sold out months in advance. Alvis Hermanis has been its chief director and artistic director for 26 years now.

Alvis studied acting at the Latvian National Conservatory, and in 1992 he started directing. His productions have been shown in more than 40 countries around the world – from Moscow to Bogota, whilst also participating in the most prestigious theater festivals.

“Modern look at the classics” is perhaps the most accurate description of the repertoire of the New Riga Theatre. Alvis focuses on the modern audience, who no longer believes that circumstances create people, but instead believes that people themselves are the creators.

During the reconstruction of the New Riga Theater, Hermanis decided to send a message to his descendants in the form of a “time capsule”. There he put the manuscript of his recent play “White Helicopter” (in which Mikhail Baryshnikov played out the main role), a pack of Marlboro, and a kind of manifesto – a set of ethical rules for theater employees and spectators. The manifesto consists of 7 points that can be combined in one word – freedom. Freedom is indeed the main engine of the theater – political correctness is not allowed here. “The zone of art is the zone of dreams. Is it you who’s in control of your dreams?”