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Hans van Eck - Composer, Sound Artist, Musicologist

"Music is basically the art of listening"

hans van eck

The art of music arises from the digestion of sounds in the ears and minds of the listener. In the chain of creation the composer is only one facet, the performer and listener play just as important a role. In my opinion this is even more true when timbre is used as the most important carrier of meaning.

Thoroughly educated in the music of the Western classical tradition, I added new viewpoints to my art. From my musical hero's Giacinto Scelsi and Luigi Nono as well as from music from the Far-East (Japanese Gagaku) I learned to work with the basics of sound. Studying compositions by Claude Vivier and the music of the Near East taught me about the use of melodic lyricism and the expressiveness of micro-tones.

In the late 1990's I became interested in sound-art after meeting the visual and sound artist Hans van Koolwijk. For some of his installations I provided compositional elements and timing, sometimes resulting in many hours of music as in the 12 hour 'Passages': the music for the 'Klankkaatser' (Sound Reverberator 2010). Our collaboration led to the development and building of new musical instruments for which I composed many pieces; the most prominent for the BassBoxes.

The magic of sounds is for me the most important aspect of music. The foremost goal of my compositions is to make the listener experience sounds as they are, taking him beyond the surface of the music. My musical style might be described as lyrical and colourful. The use of live electronics and soundtracks is so integrated in my way of making music that I can hardly do without it.

I co-founded the Schreck Ensemble with the late Arie van Schutterhoef in 1989 in order to perform music that combines the use of acoustic instruments with the new sounds offered by modern computer technology. My music is published by MCN/Donemus, Amsterdam and can be found on the Internet.