In music research circles, Lucija Garutas is often referred to as the Latvian Germaine Tailleferre, known as the composer of the French Les six. The reference is not accidental. Already in the early years of her studies, L. Garuta had a dream of music education abroad, she was especially interested in the new winds blowing from France. After years of study at the Latvian Conservatory, the young musician fulfilled her dream not only of studies, but also got to know the concert life of Paris (1926). Lucija Garut studied piano with prominent French musicians: Alfred Cortot and Isidor Philipp, who was a good friend of composer Claude-Achille Debussy. L. Garutas learned instrumentation from composer, conductor and music critic Paul Le Flem. Visiting Paris for the second time (1928), Lucija Garut continued her composition studies at the Ecole Normale de Musique under Paul Dukas, whose students include such composers as Maurice Duruflé and Olivier Messiaen.

Lucija Garutas is one of the first female composers, with an unusual aesthetic vision rooted in a deep love for Latvian, but at the same time with a desire for a worldly breath. In many ways, L.Garuta had already filled important pages in the history of Latvian music in the pre-war years in the genres of chamber music. I would like to claim that the composer’s talent and capabilities, if the Second World War had not started, would have gained at least the fame of Tayfera, maybe even more… But that was not the composer’s concern. It seems that Lucija Garutas realized early on that her earthly path leads to the stars, as the poet Zenta Mauriņa beautifully put it into words: “Starry – that’s what I call Lucija Garutas in the spirit. Her music takes you from the earth, it lifts you towards the stars and the sun. Her music has the power of tenderness, which purifies and explains”.

Kristiāna Vaickovska