Sophie Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté
Encyclopedia
Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté was a Russia
n-born Canadian
composer
and virtuoso
pianist
and violin
ist.
Born in Moscow
as Sofia (Sonia) Fridman-Kochevskaya, Eckhardt-Gramatté studied at the Conservatoire de Paris
, where her teachers included Alfred Brun and Guillaume Rémy for violin, S. Chenée for piano, and Vincent d'Indy
and Camille Chevillard
for composition
. She also embarked on several concert tours of Western Europe, on which she performed her own works. In 1920, she married the painter Walter Gramatté
in Berlin
. She toured with Edwin Fischer
in Germany in 1925.
Following her husband's death in 1929, she pursued further lessons in composition with Max Trapp
in Berlin.
In 1934, she married the journalist and art historian Ferdinand Eckhardt and together they moved to Vienna
. She dedicated herself exclusively to composition after 1935. The couple relocated again to Winnipeg
, Canada
in 1953.
Eckhardt-Gramatté died in Stuttgart
as a result of an accident. Her legacy is preserved through the work of the Eckhardt-Grammaté Foundation.
Her compositions included: two symphonies
; a concerto for orchestra
; a triple concerto
for trumpet
, clarinet
, bassoon
, strings
, and timpani
; three piano concerto
s; two violin concerto
s; a piece for two pianos and orchestra
; a bassoon concerto
; various chamber works
; as well as numerous instrumental solos for piano and violin. Most of her compositions remain unpublished.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-born Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and virtuoso
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
pianist
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist.
Born in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
as Sofia (Sonia) Fridman-Kochevskaya, Eckhardt-Gramatté studied at the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
, where her teachers included Alfred Brun and Guillaume Rémy for violin, S. Chenée for piano, and Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy was a French composer and teacher.-Life:Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy was born in Paris into an aristocratic family of royalist and Catholic persuasion. He had piano lessons from an early age from his paternal grandmother, who passed him on to Antoine François Marmontel and...
and Camille Chevillard
Camille Chevillard
Camille Chevillard was a French composer and conductor.He was born in Paris, France. He led the Lamoureux Orchestra in the premieres of Debussy's Nocturnes and La mer . He was the son-in-law of conductor Charles Lamoureux...
for composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
. She also embarked on several concert tours of Western Europe, on which she performed her own works. In 1920, she married the painter Walter Gramatté
Walter Gramatté
Walter Gramatté was a German expressionist painter who specialized in magic realism. He often painted with a mystical view of nature.Walter Gramatté died on 9 February 1929 of Intestinal Tuberculosis....
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. She toured with Edwin Fischer
Edwin Fischer
Edwin Fischer was a Swiss classical pianist and conductor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, particularly in the traditional Germanic repertoire of such composers as J. S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert...
in Germany in 1925.
Following her husband's death in 1929, she pursued further lessons in composition with Max Trapp
Max Trapp
Hermann Emil Alfred Max Trapp was a German composer and teacher. A prestigious figure in the Berlin cultural scene during the 1930s, Trapp, amongst others in the Nazi influenced scene, was regularly invited to contribute to concert programs and competitions.Trapp was born in Berlin and attended...
in Berlin.
In 1934, she married the journalist and art historian Ferdinand Eckhardt and together they moved to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. She dedicated herself exclusively to composition after 1935. The couple relocated again to Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1953.
Eckhardt-Gramatté died in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
as a result of an accident. Her legacy is preserved through the work of the Eckhardt-Grammaté Foundation.
Her compositions included: two symphonies
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
; a concerto for orchestra
Concerto for Orchestra
Although a concerto is usually a piece of music for one or more solo instruments accompanied by a full orchestra, several composers have written works with the apparently contradictory title Concerto for Orchestra...
; a triple concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
for trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
, strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
, and timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
; three piano concerto
Piano concerto
A piano concerto is a concerto written for piano and orchestra.See also harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano...
s; two violin concerto
Violin concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin and instrumental ensemble, customarily orchestra. Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up through the present day...
s; a piece for two pianos and orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
; a bassoon concerto
Bassoon concerto
A bassoon concerto is a concerto for bassoon accompanied by a musical ensemble, typically orchestra. Like bassoon sonatas, bassoon concerti were relatively uncommon until the twentieth century, although there are quite a few bassoon concerti from the Classical period...
; various chamber works
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
; as well as numerous instrumental solos for piano and violin. Most of her compositions remain unpublished.
Selected works
- Lagrime for viola (or cello) and piano, E. 61 (1928)
- Procession funèbre, Symphonic Poem, E. 74 (1928)
- Violin Concerto No. 1, E. 59bis (1929)
- Piano Concerto No. 1 in A minor, E. 60 (1925-31)
- February Suite for violin and piano (1934)
- String Quartet No. 1, E. 103 (1938)
- Symphony No. 1 in C major, E. 104 (1939)
- String Quartet No. 2 "Hainburger-Quartett" (1943)
- Duo for viola and cello, E. 109 (1944)
- Piano Concerto No. 2 in E-flat major, E. 117 (1946)
- Concertino for string orchestra, E. 119 (1947)
- Triotino, "Nicolas-trio" for violin, viola and cello, E. 114 (1947)
- Triple Concerto for trumpet, clarinet and bassoon, E. 123 (1949)
- Bassoon Concerto, E. 124/25 (1950)
- Markantes Stück for piano and orchestra (1950)
- Violin Concerto No. 2, E. 127 (1951)
- Concerto for orchestra, E. 137 (1954)
- Duo concertante for flute and violin, E. 138 (1956)
- Duo concertante for cello and piano, E. 146 (1959)
- String Quartet No. 3, E. 149 (1964)
- Symphony-Concerto for piano and orchestra (Piano Concerto No. 3), E. 154 (1967)
- Piano Trio, E. 157 (1968)
- Symphony No. 2 "Manitoba" (1970)
- Konzertstück for cello and orchestra, E. 163 (1974)
- Pianiolino Sonatas (recorded by Marc-André HamelinMarc-André HamelinMarc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ, is a French Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer.Born in Montreal, Quebec, Marc-André Hamelin began his piano studies at the age of five. His father, a pharmacist by trade who was also a pianist, introduced him to the works of Alkan, Godowsky, and Sorabji when he was...
) - 10 Caprices for solo violin
Literature
- Eckhardt, Ferdinand (1985). Music from Within: A Biography of the Composer S C Eckhardt-Gramatté, Winnipeg, Manitoba: The University of Manitoba Press. ISBN 0-88755-136-X
See also
- Music of CanadaMusic of CanadaThe music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...
- List of Canadian composers