Raymond Pauls Hospitalized 0 31

In October 2025, 89-year-old Pauls suffered a heart attack and underwent complex heart surgery. Doctors performed serious intervention, after which he temporarily had speech problems.

Due to health issues, Pauls was forced to cancel scheduled concerts in Latvia for October 2025. Initially, organizers explained the cancellation of the performances by the artist's cold, but it later turned out that there were much more serious problems.

Health issues began as early as 2024. Pauls announced the possible end of his career due to a sharp deterioration in his vision: the composer found it difficult to work with sheet music and make notes, and he also completely gave up driving.

Raymond Pauls was born on January 12, 1936, in Riga to a German-Latvian family. His father was a glassblower and an amateur musician who played percussion. From an early age, the boy showed an interest in music — at the age of three, he was enrolled in a kindergarten at a music institute.

Pauls graduated from the Latvian Conservatory with a degree in piano and later in composition. While studying, he worked as a pianist in pop orchestras and played in restaurants, where he studied jazz classics.

The composer wrote music for hundreds of hits performed by Alla Pugacheva (“A Million Scarlet Roses,” “Maestro,” “Antique Clock”), Valery Leontiev (“Green Light,” “Sunny Days Disappeared”), Laima Vaikule (“Vernissage,” “Not Yet Evening”), Sofia Rotaru, and other stars of the Soviet and Russian pop scene. In total, the maestro has over 500 songs to his credit. In January 2026, he celebrated his 90th birthday. The President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, called Pauls a person who "made Latvia Latvia," emphasizing: "Raymond Pauls is a miracle."