Lauma Reinholde

Lauma Reinholde (1906 - 1986) was a Latvian composer, pianist and teacher who toured internationally and composed over 300 works. Although sometimes known as Lauma Vikmane after her marriage, she is best known as Lauma Reinholde. Reinholde was born in Riga to a musical family. Her mother Alvine Rozenberga was a pianist. Her father Janis Reinholde was a composer, conductor, and violinist. Reinholde began studying piano at age three and attended the Riga Conservatory (today the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music) and the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Her teachers included A. Daugulis, E. Daugovet, and Jāzeps Vītols. After graduating in 1926, Reinholde studied abroad. Describing this time in an autobiographical article (On the Path of My Life. Zeltene, No. 3, 01.02.1934), she noted, “Although I wanted to go abroad to improve my skills immediately after graduating from the conservatory, I only managed to do so after two years, as I could not find the funds sooner. With a grant from the cultural fund and a part of my own savings, I set out into the world. I had to endure many indescribably difficult days during these times of studying abroad (in Germany and Poland). I often ran out o