Composer Juris Ābols was born on April 16, 1950 in Riga, to the family of painter Ojārs Ābols and philologist Mirdza Ābols. He graduated from the Latvian State Conservatory (now – JVLMA) in the flute class of Jānis Morits, receiving a diploma as a teacher and concert performer (1972) and in the composition class of Ādolfis Skulte (1982); after that he worked as a freelance artist. He played in the Latvian National Opera Orchestra (1976–1978). During the restoration of the country's independence, he worked in the field of journalism, played in a piano trio with composer Edmunds Goldšteins and violinist Jānis Bulava, performing classical Latvian composers, as well as his own music, recording and producing the album "Sand Time", a witness to this collaboration, in 1988/1989. Worked as an organist in the Catholic Church music sphere in France, Strasbourg (1998–2005). Since 1987 – member of the Latvian Composers' Union. Inherited from his father a philosophical worldview centered on humanism and a view of the world's social processes in their complex interconnections, contexts and cross-section. Starting with the first approved works ("Five Latvian Dances", Prelude and Toccata), the theme at the center of his work is reflections on man, his inner world, reaching even into the deepest depths of the subconscious, to which a considerable number of psychedelically centered compositions have been dedicated since the early 1980s. Here he studied with Luciano Berio and Maurizio Kagel, but nevertheless adhered to his own individual style, experimenting with the human voice in various emotional situations, using ancient dead languages (Carmina byzantica, "Normal Physiology", etc.), exploiting as many as five languages within the framework of one opus ("Our Man in Beiczin"). In general, he uses language at all levels - from the subconsciously materialized intonome to its electronic transformation, from ancient Greek, Thracian and Assyrian to the so-called imaginary languages, Dadaist vocabulary, and, finally, his native language with its dialects. A connoisseur of cultural history, ancient cultures and civilizations: in his compositions we often encounter a quote from a cultural symbol. He also does not shy away from the most traditional means of musical expression, for example, the classical harmony school. He is interested in national cultures, their historical and geographical parallels. Hobbies – ethnogenesis and ancient tribes, the research of which resulted in the compilation of the "Balto-Balkan Encyclopedia" (2002) and individual research manuscripts. Research is regular. In general, a bitonalist and a polytonalist. A polystylist. In the late 90s, Dadaist opuses compete with works written in the traditional style; in 2004, electronics and folk rock ("Jautra sabridība") join this symbiosis. Ironic motifs are not alien; stings, sarcasm, absurd humor, especially around the turn of the century. However, there is never any evil in this irony: if ethics prevail over aesthetics – then this is the merit of the cultural and historical experience of humanity or cultural processes. The endings of his opuses tend to be tinged with a resigned, sad smile, thus posing the question to the one enjoying his musical process: "But why?..." J. Ābols' culturally problematic journalism and concert reviews can also be found in the Latvian press. Recordings - in the Latvian Radio Record Library, Music Department of the National Library of Latvia; manuscripts - in the Latvian National Library's Music Department, JVLMA sheet music library. Photographic materials - in the personal archive of the composer Edmunds Goldšteins.
