We are used to seeing Raymond Paul at an elegant grand piano, creating melodies that have become the cultural code of the entire nation. However, as he celebrates his 90th birthday, the Maestro discovers that outside the spotlight, there is a completely different, much simpler world just as close to his heart.
While others of his colleagues look for inspiration in luxury, the composer has found a way to maintain zest for life and a sharp mind in what most would consider a normal daily routine.
Latvian music legend Raimonds Pauls celebrated his excellent 90th birthday in January of this year. While the world knows him as a virtuoso, whose melodies were once praised by such stars as Alla Pugacheva, Valery Leontiev and Laima Vaikule, Maestro’s daily life in Baltezer reveals a completely different, unexpected facet of his personality.
As it turns out, the former minister of culture and the author of countless hits is not only a genius composer, but also an unusually economical man. His passion for practical works and technical solutions has become a legendary part of his personality, showing the down-to-earth and active nature of the artist.
Thrift stores as a source of inspiration
While other artists look for inspiration in still life landscapes or long journeys, Raymond Paul finds it among screws, drills and garden machinery. Magazine “Private Life” in the material “Maestro’s 10 Little Secrets” the composer discovers that a visit to the local hardware store is not just shopping for him, but a full-fledged recreational ritual.
“Es love thrift stores. I can walk through them like a museum. I like to study, play around with those instruments,” says Paul.
He does not hide that he tends to buy things also out of pure interest: “What have I not bought there! I see a new bori and immediately buy it. Whether I use it afterwards is another question.”
Paul has proven that he can handle any technical challenge at home. The maestro has never been shy to “get his hands dirty” – he knows how to drive a nail into the wall and, if the situation requires it, to repair clogged drains.
This ability to maintain order in your farm by yourself has been developed over decades. Interest in instruments and practical operation has helped the composer to maintain energy and a sharp mind even at a respectable age.
His workshop and collection of tools in Baltezer is proof that creativity is not limited to one area. The precision with which he touches the piano keys echoes to some extent the care required when working with tools.
Why does Maestro’s simplicity still appeal to us?
In today’s world, Raymond Paul’s simplicity and joy in ordinary, practical things serve as a reminder of what lies at the heart of true longevity. It is not just worldly fame, but the ability to find satisfaction in everyday little things and in the work done by one’s own hands.
Looking at the Maestro, who speaks with equal passion about the concert program and about the new “bori”, we see an artist who has remained true to his roots. His attachment to household goods makes him closer and more understandable to anyone who has ever felt the satisfaction of a job well done.
date:2026-02-10 17:00:00