Juozas Gruodis

Juozas Gruodis ( born December 8, 1884 in Rokėnai, † April 16, 1948 in Kaunas ) was a Lithuanian composer and music educator.

Gruodis was organist in the province before the Moscow Conservatory and from 1920 to 1924 at Paul Graener studied at the Conservatory in Leipzig from 1915 to 1916. After his return, he was from 1924 to 1927 conductor of the National Opera. He founded the Conservatory of Kaunas, the first music school in Lithuania at the university level, where he was the rector and teacher of composition. One of his students was Julius Juzeliūnas.

Following on Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis he combined in his compositions Lithuanian folk music with modern - late romantic - currents of his time. He composed, among others two symphonic poems, two orchestral suites, a string quartet, two piano sonatas, songs, ballet, theater music and folk song arrangements.