Raimonds Pauls

Raimonds Pauls (born January 12, 1936 in Iļģuciems, Riga, Latvia) is a Latvian and Soviet composer and piano player who is well-known in Latvia and the former Soviet Union. Pauls was interested in music since his childhood years and attended the Emils Darzins Music School. In 1958, Pauls graduated from the Latvian Academy of Music in Professor H. Braun's piano class. At that time he was already seen as an excellent piano player, he played in restaurants, learning jazz classics and contemporary songs. From 1962 to 1965 Pauls studied composition, and from 1964 to 1971 conducted the Latvian State Philharmonic's light music orchestra, in which he was also a pianist. In 1972, Raimonds Pauls proceeded to create an ensemble of Latvian radio,...