Mārtiņš Viļums

"Everything and nothing. Past and present. No comment."

Mārtiņš Viļums

The composer and accordion player Mārtiņš Viļums was born on March 3rd, 1974 in Riga, he studied accordion at the Mediņš Music School (1991–1996) and then composition at the Vītols Latvian State Academy of Music preparatory class with Pēteris Plakidis (1995–1996). He also studied accordion at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Composition with Osvaldas Balakauskas (1996–1997), and then focused only on composition with Julius Juzeliunas and Rimantas Janeliauskas (1997–2001) obtaining his Bachelor’s degree. In 2002 he continued studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music in the Master’s program with Rimantas Janeliauskas. His topic concerns the understanding of aspects of time in 20th century music. In 2004, he received his master’s degree and began his post graduate studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music, completing his graduate studies in 2006. In 2011, he received his PhD in Humanitarian Sciences, and the theme of his dissertation was The compositional principles of articulation of the musical timespace (the aspects of spatialization of sound parameters in music in the second half of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century).

His string quartet Sansara obtained first prize in the Latvian Philharmonic and Latvian Composers’ Union’s organized competition (1996); the work also received wide acceptance at the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers in Paris (1997) and the Luciano Berio Festival in Japan (at the Tokyo Opera); at concerts in Lithuania, and in Russia. Many of his other works have received premieres in Lithuania (at the festivals Vilnius muzika and Druskomania, and at the Kaunas Electronic Music Festival. The composition Le temps scintille by Mārtiņš Viļums has won at the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers in Vienna (2005). He has received the Latvian Great Music Award 2012.

He has also appeared as a performer in concerts and festivals in Latvia and abroad and may be seen in several Lithuanian short feature films. He has worked as music literature specialist at the Children’s Studio of the Lithuanian Academy of Music (2001).

Guntars Pupa, supplemented by Mārīte Dombrovska Photo - Edmunds Mickus © LMIC