Sophie Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté
Photo of Sophie Gramatté (taken in the 1920s)
Born	6 January 1899
Died	2 December 1974
Occupation	composer, violinist, pianist, teacher

Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté was a talented musician. She was born in Russia in 1899. She became a Canadian composer, pianist, and violinist. A virtuoso means she was extremely skilled. She was known for her amazing performances. She also wrote many pieces of music. She passed away in Germany in 1974.

About Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté

Her Early Life and Studies

Sophie-Carmen was born as Sofia Friedman-Kochevskaya in Moscow. Her mother worked as a governess for the Tolstoy family. She started learning piano in 1904. She wrote her first piano songs in 1905.

From 1908 to 1913, she studied at the Conservatoire de Paris in France. She learned violin, piano, and how to compose music. She performed for the first time in 1910. Her first song, Etude de Concert, was published that same year. In 1914, she moved to Berlin, Germany. There, she continued to study violin. By 1919, she was touring Europe. She performed her own musical works during these tours.

Her Career as a Musician

In 1920, Sophie-Carmen married a painter named Walter Gramatté in Berlin. From 1924 to 1926, they lived in Spain. During this time, a famous cellist named Pablo Casals helped guide her music. She also wrote her first piano concerto. A concerto is a piece of music for a solo instrument and an orchestra. In 1925, she toured Germany with another famous musician, Edwin Fischer.

Her husband passed away in 1929. After this, she toured the United States. She performed her first piano and violin concertos. People loved her performances. She played with famous conductors like Leopold Stokowski in Philadelphia. She also played with Frederick Stock in Chicago.

When she returned to Berlin in 1930, she stopped performing. She wanted to spend all her time writing music. In 1934, she married a journalist and art historian. From 1936, she took more lessons in composing music. She studied at the Berlin Academy of Arts.

In 1939, she and her husband moved to Vienna, Austria. She continued to compose music there. In 1945, she helped restart a music group in Austria. This group was called the International Society for Contemporary Music. In 1953, she and her husband moved to Winnipeg, Canada. She kept writing music and taught violin students there. One of her students was the violinist Gwen Thompson.

Later Life and Legacy

In 1970, Sophie-Carmen received an honorary doctorate from Brandon University in Canada. She was also given the title 'professor' in Vienna. In 1974, she was the first Canadian composer to get a special award. It was called the Diplôme d’honneur from the Canadian Conference of the Arts.

Also in 1974, a two-hour TV show about her life was made by the CBC. Some of her music and old performances are part of a collection called the Anthology of Canadian Music. Sophie-Carmen wanted to help young musicians. She started a project to encourage them to play modern music. This project became a competition after she passed away. The first Eckhardt-Gramatté competition was held in 1976. It helps young musicians perform Canadian music.

Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté died in Stuttgart, Germany, after an accident in 1974. Her musical work and ideas are kept alive by the Eckhardt-Gramatté Foundation.

Her Musical Compositions

Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté mostly taught herself how to compose music. She wrote more than 175 pieces. She learned a lot from the challenging music she played on piano and violin. Her early compositions, especially from the 1920s, show this.

Later, her music became more complex. She used different styles like neo-classicism and jazz. In the 1950s, she started using a technique called serialism. This was a modern way to organize notes. She always admired the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Her music is often described as dark, strong, and full of energy. Even with modern techniques, her music still had a romantic feeling. Besides writing music, she also created a piano teaching method. It was called the ‘E-gré Piano Technique’.

Her compositions include:

• Two symphonies (large pieces for orchestra)
• A concerto for orchestra
• Three piano concertos
• Two violin concertos
• A piece for two pianos and an orchestra
• A bassoon concerto
• Many chamber works (music for small groups of instruments)
• Lots of solo pieces for piano and violin

Most of her compositions are published by the Canadian Music Centre.

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)
• Six piano sonatas (recorded by Marc-André Hamelin) (the last also a suite.)
• 10 Caprices for solo violin

Recordings

You can find recordings of Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté's music:

• The six caprices and other works for piano. Megumi Masaki, piano. Winnipeg : The Eckhardt-Gramatté Foundation, 1991. Worldcat record
• The six piano sonatas = Les six sonates pour piano. Marc-André Hamelin, piano. Toronto : Centrediscs, 2011. Worldcat record
• S.C. Eckhardt-Gramatté 100 : a centenary celebration. Multiple performers, including the composer. [Winnipeg] : Eckhardt-Gramatté Foundation, 1999. Worldcat record
• 13 Canadian caprices = 13 caprices canadiens. Jasper Wood, violin. [Canada] : Analekta?, 1999. Worldcat record