Lepo Sumera
Lepo Sumera (8 May 1950 – 2 June 2000) was an Estonian composer and teacher. • Illustration — Lepo Sumera in 1988
Lepo Sumera

Khanzhivan · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Born
- 1950. · Tallinn.
- Died
- 2000. · Tallinn.
- Nationality
- Estonia and Soviet Union.
- Occupation
- composer, politician and musician.
- Fields
- opera and symphony.
- Education
- Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Moscow Conservatory and Tallinn Music High School.
- Languages
- Estonian.
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Lepo Sumera (8 May 1950 – 2 June 2000) was an Estonian composer and teacher. • Illustration — Lepo Sumera in 1988
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In this article
Life and career
Life and career
Lepo Sumera studied at Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Moscow Conservatory and Tallinn Music High School. The recorded working language is Estonian. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are opera and symphony. Positions recorded include Minister of Culture.
He was born in Tallinn and studied with Veljo Tormis in his teens, and from 1968, with Heino Eller at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (then Tallinn State Conservatory). After Heino Eller's death in 1970, he studied with Heino Jürisalu, graduating in 1973. He then did postgraduate study at the Moscow Conservatory (1979–1982) with the Russian composer Roman Ledenev. Sumera first came to notice in 1972 with In Memoriam, an orchestral tribute to Eller. Sumera composed six symphonies, most notably Symphony No. 4 from 1992, known also as "Serena Borealis", which includes parts on guitar. Another noteworthy work is Seenekantaat (Mushroom Cantata), completed in 1983. The chorus text largely consists of the Latinate names of mushroom species.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1926
Lepo Sumera was born on 8 May 1926.
2000
Lepo Sumera died on 2 June 2000.
Legacy
He is considered one of Estonia's most renowned composers along with Heino Eller, Eduard Tubin and Arvo Pärt. He was also his country's Minister of Culture from 1988 to 1992 during the days of the Singing Revolution. As such he was the last Minister of Culture of the Estonian SSR, and the first Minister of Culture after Estonia re-gained independence.

Jüri Krjukov ja Lepo Sumera Miss Estonia 88 žüriis
Jaan Künnap

Jüri Krjukov ja Lepo Sumera Miss Estonia 88 žüriis
Jaan Künnap
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- MusicBrainz artist record for Lepo Sumera
Scholarly · MetaBrainz Foundation
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q724205: Lepo Sumera
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Lepo Sumera”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Covell, Roger. Spring Brings a Victory for Estonia. The Sydney Morning Herald. 22. 26 October 1993.
- 2.Great Composers: Lepo Sumera.
- 3.Rickards, Guy. Lepo Sumera. the Guardian. 23 June 2000.
- 4.The Torchbearer Dies. Central Europe Review, Vol. 2, No 23, 12 June 2000. Accessed 17 February 2009-Huang, Mel.
- 5.Rickards (23 June 2000)
- 6.Huang (12 June 2000)
- 7.Levon Hakobian. Music of the Soviet Era: 1917–1991. Routledge. 25 November 2016. 978-1-317-09186-8.
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MusicBrainz artist record for Lepo SumeraMetaBrainz Foundation
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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