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Lucija Garuta was a Latvian composer born on January 23, 1902, in Riga, Latvia. She was the daughter of a music teacher and grew up in a musical family. Her father, Jāzeps Garūts, was a well-known composer and conductor in Latvia, and her mother, Marija Garūte, was a pianist and music teacher. Garuta began her musical education at a young age, studying piano and music theory with her mother. She later attended the Riga Conservatory, where she studied composition with Jāzeps Vītols, a prominent Latvian composer and musicologist. Garuta graduated from the conservatory in 1925 with a degree in composition. After completing her studies, Garuta worked as a music teacher and composer. She wrote music for various ensembles, including choirs, orchestras, and chamber groups. Her early works were influenced by Latvian folk music and the music of other Baltic composers, such as Vītols and Emilis Melngailis. In the 1930s, Garuta became interested in the music of the French composer Claude Debussy and began incorporating elements of his style into her own compositions. She also began experimenting with atonality and other modernist techniques. One of Garuta's most significant works is her Symphony No. 1, which she composed in 1939. The symphony is a large-scale work for orchestra and choir and is considered one of the most important Latvian symphonies of the 20th century. The piece is notable for its use of Latvian folk melodies and its incorporation of modernist techniques. During World War II, Garuta continued to compose and teach music despite the difficult circumstances. She was briefly imprisoned by the Soviet authorities in 1944 but was released after several months. After the war, she became a professor at the Latvian State Conservatory, where she taught composition and music theory. Garuta's later works continued to explore modernist techniques and incorporate elements of Latvian folk music. One of her most famous works is her cantata "The Nightingale's Wedding," which she composed in 1954. The piece is based on a Latvian folk tale and features a choir, soloists, and orchestra. Garuta's music was well-received in Latvia and other parts of the Soviet Union, but she was not widely known outside of these regions. However, her music has gained more recognition in recent years, and her works have been performed by orchestras and ensembles around the world. Garuta died on September 1, 1977, in Riga, Latvia. She is remembered as one of the most important Latvian composers of the 20th century and a pioneer of modernist music in Latvia. Her music continues to be performed and studied by musicians and scholars around the world.

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