Carolina Eyck

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Carolina Eyck
Carolina Eyck playing the theremin
Background information
Born (1987-12-26) 26 December 1987 (age 36)
Near Berlin, Germany
GenresClassical, electronic, contemporary classical
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, author
Instrument(s)Theremin, viola, vocals
Websitecarolinaeyck.com

Carolina Eyck (born 26 December 1987) is a German-Sorb[1] musician and composer who specialises in playing the theremin. She is one of the world's foremost theremin virtuosi,[2] and her performances around the world have helped to promote the instrument.[3] She developed a precise new playing technique and wrote the first comprehensive theremin tutor book.[4]

Biography[edit]

Carolina Eyck in the Jazz club "Telegraph"

Eyck was born in 1987, near Berlin, Germany. She is a member of the Sorbian community of East Germany.[5]

Musical history[edit]

Eyck began learning piano aged five and violin aged six.[6] She began studying the theremin at the age of seven at a school for musically gifted children in Berlin, where she was taught by a niece of Leon Theremin, the inventor of the instrument. She studied composition, and one of her pieces won first prize in a competition for young composers. A concerto for accordion and orchestra also won awards.[7]

At the age of 16, Eyck invented a new and precise way to play the theremin using exact finger positions. Three years later in 2006, aged 19, she wrote and published the first comprehensive tutor, "The Art of Playing the Theremin", for the instrument,[8] in which she explained how to make specific hand and finger positions in the air around the instrument without touching it.[9]

Eyck made her debut as a player of the theremin with the Berlin Philharmonic in 2002, and was subsequently invited to the Bohuslav Martinu International Music Festival in Basel, the Davos Festival (Switzerland), the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Großes Festspielhaus Salzburg (Austria), the Teatro Nacional Lisbon (Portugal) and the Palace of Arts Budapest.

She has performed around the world at concerts and music festivals, in Poland, the Czech Republic,[10] Luxembourg, Sweden,[11] Finland,[12] Great Britain,[13] Italy,[14] Switzerland,[15] Austria, Japan, Mexico, Chile, Portugal, Hungary, Pakistan,[16] Turkey[17] and the United States.[18]

During her concert tours, Eyck has collaborated with other musicians and orchestras, including Heinz Holliger, Robert Kolinsky, Gerhard Oppitz, Andrey Boreyko, Michael Sanderling, Gürer Aykal, John Storgårds, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Bern Symphony Orchestra, the Essen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Brandenburg State Orchestra, the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra,[19] the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, the Heidelberg Symphonic Orchestra and the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg. She was a guest musician in the Hamburg Ballet performance of "The Little Mermaid" by Lera Auerbach in Japan and San Francisco.[18]

Eyck also plays the viola. In 2010 she graduated from the Royal College of Music, Stockholm after three years of study, with a Bachelor of Music degree in the instrument. She has performed with, among others, the Deutsche Streicherphilharmonie.[20]

In 2012, she played the theremin solo at the world premiere of the two symphonies "Mesopotamia" and "Universe" by Fazıl Say.[17] Finnish composer Kalevi Aho dedicated a theremin concerto to her, which she performed for the first time in October 2012.[21] The theremin concerto "Dancefloor With Pulsing" by French composer Regis Campo was written for her and premiered with the Brussels Philharmonic in 2018.[22]

Since 2010, Eyck has been the artistic director of the Theremin Summer Academy in Colmar, France, and has conducted workshops, lectures and master classes worldwide. She was the winner of the International Competition for Composers, presented by Radio/TV Berlin-Brandenburg in 2006.[23] She has conducted workshops, lectures and Masterclasses in Germany, Sweden, Poland, Great Britain, the United States of America, Mexico and Japan.

In 2013, Eyck began performing as a duo with pianist Christopher Tarnow, and in 2015 they released an album of compositions for theremin and piano, Theremin Sonatas. In 2016, Eyck released a recording of her composition Fantasias for Theremin and String Quartet, recorded with the American Contemporary Music Ensemble.[24] Her recording are issued on the BIS, Genuin and Butterscotch Records labels,[25]

In 2015, Eyck received the German Echo Klassik in the category "Concert Recording of the Year (20th/21st century music)" for playing the Theremin Concerto "Eight Seasons" by Kalevi Aho. (Conducted by John Storgårds and played with the Lapland Chamber Orchestra: BIS records 2014.)[1][26] She released an album of theremin and voice recordings, Elegies for Theremin and Voice, in 2019.[27]

On 14 August 2020, Eyck appeared on the BBC Radio 3 programme In Tune to talk about the theremin.[28] She performed an excerpt from her tribute piece, Friend, and a version of the Doctor Who theme, which was recorded on video.[29]

Compositions[edit]

  • "Sciciani—Am wendischen Burgwall" Pictures for Accordion and Strings, world premiere on 16 September 2006 by the Cottbus Philharmonic Orchestra directed by GMD Reinhard Petersen, Soloist: Aidar Gainullin (Moskau)—Bajan
  • "CIANI—Am wendischen Burgwall" Pictures for Theremin and Orchestra, world premiere on 4 February 2007 by the orchestra of the Musikgymnasium Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (specialized high school for musicians) in the French Cathedral Berlin
  • "Syllableaves" Concerto for Theremin and Orchestra, world premiere on 24 April 2010 by the Gävle Symfoniorkester directed by Fredrik Burstedt at the Konzerthaus Gävle (Sweden)
  • "Sauselei" Duet for Viola and Voice (2010)
  • "Fantasias" for Theremin and String Quartet (2015)

Discography[edit]

LPs[edit]

  • Theremin (2008, Servi)
  • Fazıl Say (2013, Imaj)
  • Improvisations for Theremin and Piano (2014, Butterscotch Records)
  • Theremin Sonatas (2015, Genuin) with Christopher Tarnow
  • Fantasias for Theremin and String Quartet (2016, Butterscotch Records)
  • Waves (2019, yeyeh)
  • Elegies for Theremin & Voice (2019, Butterscotch Records)
  • Thetis 2086 (2022 Neue Meister)

Singles and EPs[edit]

  • Reja (2018, self-release)
  • Elephant in Green (2019, self-release)
  • Northern Lights (2020, self-release)

Live albums[edit]

  • Kalevi Aho (2013, BIS) with Annu Salminen, John Storgård, and the Lapland Chamber Orchestra

Guest contributions[edit]

  • Heinz Holliger Oboe Fantasy (2008, medici arts)
  • Dante's Dream (2009, Kick The Flame) – track "Episodes"
  • The Little Mermaid (2011, BFMI) – as the voice of the mermaid using theremin
  • Cellosophy (2012, Timezone) – track "King of Atlantis"
  • The Invention of Love [lb] film score by Maciej Sledziecki (2013)
  • Clownwise film score by Petr Ostrouchov (2014, Fog'n'Desire Films)
  • Yeni Sarkilar (2015, Ada Music) – tracks 1, 2, and 4
  • About April by Friend 'n Fellow (2015, Doctor Heart Music) – track "April"

Awards[edit]

Eyck was winner of the 2006 International Competition for Composers, organised by Radio/TV Berlin-Brandenburg.[30]

In 2015, she received the German Echo Klassik in the category "Concert Recording of the Year (20th/21st century music)" for playing the Theremin Concerto "Eight Seasons" by Kalevi Aho, conducted by John Storgårds and played with the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, published in 2014 by BIS records.[31]

Books[edit]

  • Carolina Eyck: The Art of Playing the Theremin. SERVI Verlag, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-933757-08-8
  • Carolina Eyck: Die Kunst des Thereminspiels. SERVI Verlag, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-933757-07-X, EAN 4025 1187 0631—German version

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Sorbische Musikerin Carolina Eyck bekommt Echo Klassik-Preis". FOCUS Online. 10 October 2015. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Making this a unique experience was theremin virtuoso Carolina Eyck from Berlin, the finest such performer you will likely ever run into". artssf.com. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  3. ^ "Musik aus der Luft". Der junge Kulturkanal. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012.
  4. ^ James Manheim. "Carolina Eyck biography".
  5. ^ "Carolina Eyck biography".
  6. ^ James Manheim. "Carolina Eyck biography".
  7. ^ "Biography of Carolina Eyck".
  8. ^ "Biography of Carolina Eyck".
  9. ^ "Video: Carolina Eyck Explains How to Play the Theremin and Performs a Haunting Tune". reverb.com. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Friday, 25 March 2011 – Absolventský koncert". Martinu.cz. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  11. ^ "Vackert? Tja. Häftigt? Definitivt!". Gd.se. Archived from the original on 26 April 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  12. ^ "News – Fennica Gehrman". Fennicagehrman.fi. 8 July 2011. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  13. ^ "Carolina Eyck". Theremin.tv. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  14. ^ "Fondazione The Brass Group". Thebrassgroup.fi. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  15. ^ Zeitung, Jungfrau (11 July 2012). "Ein grosser Schweizer Musiker". Jungfrau Zeitung. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  16. ^ "Carolina Eyck to perform in City today". Pakistan Newspaper "The Nation". Archived from the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  17. ^ a b "The Premiere (and The Politics) of Fazıl Say's New Symphony". Seen and Heard International. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  18. ^ a b "Earplay, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco". Financial Times. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  19. ^ Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart (9 November 2011). "Die Große Reihe – Die Macht des Schicksals (2) – 09.11.2011 – Stuttgarter Philharmoniker". Stuttgart-philharmoniker.de. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  20. ^ James Manheim. "Carolina Eyck biography".
  21. ^ "News – Fennica Gehrman". Fennicagehrman.fi. 8 July 2011. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  22. ^ Musica, A. R. S. "Brussels Philharmonic plays Zorn, Zappa, Campo & Constant (Openingsconcert) | ARS Musica". www.arsmusica.be. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  23. ^ "Internationaler Kompositionswettbewerb des RBB – rbb Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg". Rbb-online.de. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  24. ^ "Biography of Carolina Eyck".
  25. ^ James Manheim. "Carolina Eyck biography".
  26. ^ "The recording of Kalevi Aho's theremin and horn concertos won the ECHO Klassik award". Music Finland. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  27. ^ James Manheim. "Carolina Eyck biography".
  28. ^ "In Tune – Bang on a Can All Stars, Carolina Eyck". BBC. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  29. ^ "Radio 3 Home Sessions: Carolina Eyck". BBC. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  30. ^ "SOUND ROOM XIV, 19.10.2014,"Carolina Eyck"".
  31. ^ "Music Finland, "The recording of Kalevi Aho's theremin and horn concertos won the ECHO Klassik award"".
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