Søren Nils Eichberg
b. 1973
Danish
Summary
Eichberg studied piano and orchestra conducting in Copenhagen and Cologne. After winning the Queen Elisabeth Competition for Composers in Brussels in 2001, he has mostly been concentrating on composition. Other prizes and awards include a Tanglewood fellowship, the German Konrad-Adenauer Composition Grant and the Composition Stipend of the Danish Arts Foundation. Among his frequent collaborators are Ensemble Modern, Hilary Hahn, and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
The last few years has definitely established Søren Nils Eichberg´s name as an important composer. When Eichberg’s chamber opera Glare (2014) opened at Royal Opera Covent Garden in London in November 2014, Richard Morrison in The Times wrote "I can’t remember a more gripping 75 minutes of avant-garde music-theatre" and gave it five out of five stars. Only a few months later Hilary Hahn’s Deutsche Grammophone album 27 Encores featuring Eichberg’s Levitation was awarded a GRAMMY award. And in 2015 his Symphony No. 3 was premiered as his last work as a composer-in-residence for the Danish National Orchestra ending a collaboration which began in 2010.
Critical Acclaim
...Søren Nils Eichberg is a master of building symphonic curves and´spectacular, cinematic contrasts - Christine Christiansen, Jyllandsposten...a young composer's confirmation of this tradition where you meet melodic virtuosity, driven by a solid consciousness of form, dynamic rhythms and youthful outbursts - Tonekunstudvalget
From punk rock to opera: Søren Nils Eichberg is one of Europe’s most exciting composers.“ – The Royal Opera House, London
The most noticeable characteristic of Eichberg’s style is its rhythmic vitality, especially in sections of pulsing momentum. His work displays adept control of timbre and orchestration, which is imperative for such bold music... Eichberg’s music is exciting, showing a composer eager to try new approaches to his craft. - American Records Guide
Biography
The last few years has definitely established Søren Nils Eichberg´s name as an important composer. When Eichberg’s chamber opera Glare (2014) opened at Royal Opera Covent Garden in London in November 2014, Richard Morrison in The Times wrote "I can’t remember a more gripping 75 minutes of avant-garde music-theatre" and gave it five out of five stars. Only a few months later Hilary Hahn’s Deutsche Grammophone album 27 Encores featuring Eichberg’s Levitation was awarded a GRAMMY award.
Eichberg was born in 1973 in Stuttgart, Germany, grew up in Denmark and today lives and works in Berlin. He studied piano and orchestra conducting in Copenhagen and Cologne, but his break-through came as a composer when winning the Queen Elisabeth Competition of Belgium in 2001. Since then, he has risen to become one of the most distinctive composers of his generation, in 2010-2015 becoming the first composer-in-residence in the history of the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, one of the leading orchestras in Scandinavia.
Eichberg’s works have been performed in most European countries as well as in Japan, China, Korea, Australia and the US and have been radio broadcast in the US and europewide. He has been commissioned works by Ensemble Modern, Hilary Hahn, Royal Opera London, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, The Brodsky Quartet and worked with conductors like Kristjan Järvi, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Vassily Petrenko, Christoph Poppen, Robert Spano and Franck Ollu. His output since 2001 includes more than 40 works, among others three symphonies; cello-, double cello-, piano-, horn- and violin concertos; three operas as well as solo-, chamber- and ensemble music.
His prizes and awards include the Composition Fellowship of the Tanglewood Music Festival, the 3-year Composition Grant of the Danish Ministry of Culture, the Composition Stipend of the German Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation, the Civitella Ranieri Fellowship (Italy / New York) and the Composition Prize of the Onassis Public Benefit Foundation.
As a conductor he has worked with: Südwestfälische Philharmonie, Junge Münchner Philharmonie, Danish Radio Symphony, Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop, Österreichisches Ensemble für Neue Musik and soloists from the Munich and Berlin Philharmonic.
Eichberg was born in 1973 in Stuttgart, Germany, grew up in Denmark and today lives and works in Berlin. He studied piano and orchestra conducting in Copenhagen and Cologne, but his break-through came as a composer when winning the Queen Elisabeth Competition of Belgium in 2001. Since then, he has risen to become one of the most distinctive composers of his generation, in 2010-2015 becoming the first composer-in-residence in the history of the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, one of the leading orchestras in Scandinavia.
Eichberg’s works have been performed in most European countries as well as in Japan, China, Korea, Australia and the US and have been radio broadcast in the US and europewide. He has been commissioned works by Ensemble Modern, Hilary Hahn, Royal Opera London, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, The Brodsky Quartet and worked with conductors like Kristjan Järvi, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Vassily Petrenko, Christoph Poppen, Robert Spano and Franck Ollu. His output since 2001 includes more than 40 works, among others three symphonies; cello-, double cello-, piano-, horn- and violin concertos; three operas as well as solo-, chamber- and ensemble music.
His prizes and awards include the Composition Fellowship of the Tanglewood Music Festival, the 3-year Composition Grant of the Danish Ministry of Culture, the Composition Stipend of the German Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation, the Civitella Ranieri Fellowship (Italy / New York) and the Composition Prize of the Onassis Public Benefit Foundation.
As a conductor he has worked with: Südwestfälische Philharmonie, Junge Münchner Philharmonie, Danish Radio Symphony, Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop, Österreichisches Ensemble für Neue Musik and soloists from the Munich and Berlin Philharmonic.
News
- Lieder und Tänze vom Meer by Eichberg premieres
- 5th June 2024
- Søren Nils Eichberg address climate change in new dance oratorium
- World Premiere of Søren Nils Eichberg's opera based on Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake
- 19th January 2023
- 18 February 2023 will see the long-waited premiere of Søren Eichberg’s new opera Oryx and Crake based on the novel by the great Canadian author, Margaret Atwood.
- A Collection of Chamber Operas
- 25th February 2020
- The following chamber operas offer a more intimate experience for captivating your audiences’ hearts and minds. Varying in size, language and content, the selections below offer repertoire for a wide range of...
- World premiere of CHARYBDIS for viola & orchestra
- 19th October 2016
- Charybdis in the Greek mythology was the daughter of Poseidon and Gaia. To expand her father’s empire she partly flooded the coast of Greece. Zeus therefore turned her into a whirlpool (reflecting the German...
- Season Highlights 2016-2017
- 1st September 2016
- We’re are delighted to be able to announce the plans for our composers during the coming season. You can view the Season Highlights 2016-2017 brochure from Music Sales Classical online. New signings include Donnacha...
- 3 new wind concertos celebrating Carl Nielsen
- 21st October 2015
- Carl Nielsen was close friends with the members of the Copenhagen Wind Quintet. He had planned to write a solo concerto for each but only finished the flute concerto and the clarinet concerto before his death in...
Performances
There are no upcoming performances
Features
- New Opera Highlights from Wise Music Classical
- Wise Music Classical invites you to explore new highlights from our opera catalogue. In these recent and upcoming premieres, new productions, and premiere recordings, our composers and their creative collaborators explore subjects ranging from the historical (Hadrian, X: The Life and Times of Malcom X, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) to the futuristic (Oryx and Crake), the fantastic (El Ultimo Sueño de Frida y Diego, Florencia en el Amazonas, Die Kinder des Sultans) to the thoroughly contemporary (Innocence, The Shell Trial). Threaded throughout these works are perennial themes of loss, longing, magic, art-making, and community.
- 2024 Opera Highlights
- Ahead of Opera America’s 2024 Opera Conference and the World Opera Forum, Wise Music Classical invites you to explore new highlights from our opera catalogue. Across major premieres, new productions, and first recordings, our composers and their collaborators explore both timely issues and the timeless themes of love, desire, and belonging.
- Margaret Atwood inspires
- Known for her powerful stories and her piercing depictions of the world, award-winning novelist Margaret Atwood has gone on to inspire the operatic world.
- A Collection of Chamber Operas
- Add some drama to your programs with our collection of captivating chamber operas.
Photos
Discography
- LabelDacapo Records
- Catalogue Number8.226556
- EnsembleEnsemble Hærværk
- SoloistEmil Gryesten
- Released14th August 2019
- Works
- LabelDacapo Records
- Catalogue Number8.226588
- SoloistRafaell Altino
- Released8th February 2019
- Works
- LabelDacapo
- Catalogue Number8.226144
- EnsembleDanish National Symphony Chorus and Orchestra
- Released20th July 2018
- Works
- LabelDeutsche Grammophon
- Catalogue Number0289 479 1725 0
- SoloistHilary Hahn (violin), Cory Smythe (piano)
- Released11th November 2013
- Works
- Labeldacapo
- Catalogue Number8.226109
- ConductorChristoph Poppen
- EnsembleDanish Radio National Symphony Orchestra
- Released1st March 2013
- Works
- LabelPhil.Harmonie
- Catalogue NumberPhil. 06022
- ConductorKolja Blacher
- EnsembleMahler Chamber Orchestra
- SoloistKolja Blacher, Violin
- Released18th June 2012
- Works
- LabelDacapo
- Catalogue Number8.226549
- EnsembleThe Danish Horn Trio (Åstrand, Salo, Keiding)
- Released1st May 2011
- Works
Scherben
Works for Solo Viola
Eichberg - Symphony No. 3 - Morpheus
In 27 Pieces: the Hilary Hahn Encores 2013
Before Heaven, Before Earth
Distant Still
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