Barbara Buchholz facts for kids
Barbara Buchholz (born December 8, 1959 – died April 10, 2012) was a talented German musician and composer from Berlin. She was known as one of the best theremin players in the world. The theremin is a unique electronic musical instrument that you play without touching it!
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Early Life and Music Journey
Barbara Buchholz was born in a city called Duisburg. She studied several instruments at Bielefeld University, including the flute, guitar, bass guitar, and singing. She first became successful as a bass player in a German jazz band called Reichlich Weiblich.
From the early 1980s, Barbara worked on many different projects that combined music with other art forms. She created shows like Tap It Deep, which mixed dance with music, and Human Interactivity. She also worked on a project called Theremin: Berlin-Moscow.
Mastering the Theremin
In the late 1990s, Barbara met Lydia Kavina, who was the grandniece of Léon Theremin, the inventor of the theremin. Barbara then traveled to Moscow to become a master student of Lydia Kavina. She learned new ways to play the theremin and explored many different sounds for the instrument, especially in jazz and modern music.
In 2005, Barbara and Lydia started a special group called Touch! Don't Touch! for theremin players and composers. Many new pieces of music were written for this group by composers like Moritz Eggert and Juliane Klein.
Performances and Impact
Barbara Buchholz performed with many different artists. She played in a trio with Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen and electronic musician Jan Bang. She also toured with the Jazz Bigband Graz and gave solo performances.
She played the theremin in several important modern works. This included The Little Mermaid, a ballet with music by Lera Auerbach, and in operas like Linkerhand by Moritz Eggert.
In 2009, Barbara appeared on the German version of the TV show Got Talent. This helped introduce the theremin and her amazing talent to a very large audience.
Later Years and Legacy
Barbara Buchholz passed away on April 10, 2012, in Berlin. She had been battling cancer for a long time. Her work helped bring the theremin to new audiences and showed how versatile this unique instrument could be in modern music.
Selected Music Albums
- Touch! Don't Touch! (2006; Wergo) – with Lydia Kavina and the Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin
- Theremin: Russia with Love (2006; Intuition)
- Sonata Mix Dwarf Cosmos (2007; Rune Grammofon) – with Susanna
- Moonstruck (2008; Intuition)
See also
In Spanish: Barbara Buchholz para niños
