Gustav Ernesaks

This article is about the composer and choir conductor. For the weightlifter, see Gustav Ernesaks (weightlifter).

Gustav Ernesaks (12 December 1908 in Peningi, Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire - 24 January 1993 in Tallinn, Estonia) was an Estonian composer and a choir conductor.

He played an integral role in the Singing Revolution and was one of the father figures of the Estonian Song Festival tradition; one of his songs, set to Lydia Koidula's poem Mu isamaa on minu arm, became an unofficial national anthem during the years of Soviet occupation; ironically, he was also the composer of the Anthem of Estonian SSR used between 1945 and 1990.

A statue of him was erected in 2004 on the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds.

Honours and awards

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the Russian Wikipedia.

Soviet Union

• Hero of Socialist Labour (1974)
• People's Artist of the USSR (1956)
• Stalin Prizes;
  • 2nd class (1947)
  • 3rd class (1951) - for the opera Tormide rand ("The Coast of Storms"; 1949)
• Lenin Prize (1970
• Order of Lenin, three times (1974, 1951, 1967)
• Order of the October Revolution (1978)
• Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1946)
• Order of the Badge of Honour, twice (1965, 1988)

Estonia

• Order of the Estonian Red Cross, 5th class (1938)
• Honoured Artist of the Estonian SSR (1942)
• People's Artist of the Estonian SSR (1947)
• State Prize of the Estonian SSR (1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1959, 1965)