Vita

        

"This is harmonious, rhythmic, metric, and tonally incredibly rich music ..." Klassik.com
 "... emotional depth that touches."  Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung
"Exciting tension with overtones and dissonances." Neue Presse

"Creating an awareness of the phenomena of life is for me a crucial function of art in today's world."
Arousing enthusiasm, going into depth, internalization and radiance - these are qualities that are extremely important to both the composer and the conductor Thorsten Encke. For him, composing is an approach to the fascinating idea of recognizing universal forces, in which allusion and openness give space to the listener's imagination.

As a conductor, he benefits from the composer's perspective and understanding of musical processes. In 2011, he founded the independent orchestra musica assoluta. At the latest with the climate-neutral festival MENSCHLICHKEIT (2021), the multimedia concert series VORTEX (2022) and the music and science project THE OCEAN IS A NOISY PLACE (2023), the ensemble has dedicated itself to the artistic treatment of socio-political and ecological topics. But that's not all: Together with his musicians, Encke searches for transparency and fresh forms in music, whether old or new. Dialogue with the audience is just as important to him as exploring the undiscovered potential in all of us. He and his musicians see themselves as an active and constructive part of society, wanting to bring people together and stimulate people's feelings and thoughts.

"The only things that are forbidden are those that cause boredom." 
Thorsten Encke gave this advice in an interview to anyone who wants to invent music. In 2005, he won the prestigious composition competition at the Pablo Casals Festival in Prades in the south of France. Since then, he has created a large number of works in all genres. 
He has received commissions from Konzerthaus Berlin, NDR, Festspiele Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Musiktage Hitzacker, the festival "Spannungen - Musik im Kraftwerk Heimbach" and many orchestras, ensembles and soloists. 
CD recordings of his works with internationally renowned artists and orchestras such as Paavo Järvi, Isabelle Faust, Tanja and Christian Tetzlaff, Sharon Kam, Elisabeth Kufferath and Julia Bartha, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover and musica assoluta provide a representative picture of his work.

Thorsten on soundcloud            on youtube

  • Biographie

    Born 1966 in Göttingen, Thorsten Encke studied violoncello and conducting in Hannover with Friedrich-Jürgen Sellheim and in Los Angeles with Lynn Harrell, gathered experience in all fields of classical music and performed widely as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician. In 1999 he decided to devote himself to a future as a freelance musician. After winning the competition in Prades in 2005, Thorsten Encke shifted his musical focus to composition and conducting. Since then he has received numerous commissions, for example from the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and the Hitzacker Summer Music Festival. His works are performed by artists such as Paavo Järvi, Christian Tetzlaff, Sharon Kam, Isabelle Faust, Julian Steckel, the Quartetto di Cremona, the Stockholm Chamber Brass and many other internationally active musicians.

    In 2011 Thorsten Encke founded the orchestra musica assoluta. As conductor and artistic director of the ensemble, Encke is committed to imparting new ways of listening and presenting impetus-providing concert experiences. Renowned for his unconventional performances and programmes, the ensemble has within a short time earned great recognition among experts and significant public attention.

    • 2021premiere "technología" for string quartet, orchestra & electronics. Commissioned by Konzerthaus Berlin for the anniversary 200 years Konzerthaus Berlin > vision string quartet, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Enrico Pomàrico, conductor
    • 2021premiere "It is noisy in the ocean..." for chamber orchestra > Randers, Dänemark > Randers Kammerorkester, David Riddell, conductor
    • 2021  premiere "insomnia" for violin, cello, accordion & tape
    • 2020/21  composer-in-residence at the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg Delmenhorst
    • 2020  premiere of "Black Ice" for 'cello & tape > Tanja Tetzlaff, violoncello
    • 2020  CD release Elisabeth Kufferath "two" with "Outline" and "Inner Voice" for violin/viola solo
    • 2019  premiere string trio "In Memory of an Old Song" > comissioned by the International Music Festival Goslar
    • 2019  premiere "Sho" for violin > comissioned by the International Max Rostal Competition Berlin
    • 2019  premiere clarinet concerto > comissioned by the North German Radio > Sharon Kam, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Joshua Weilerstein
    • 2018  premiere and CD release "Aprèsludes" (Coviello) > Julia Bartha. piano
    • 2017  CD release > "Thorsten Encke. A Portrait" > Avi music
    • 2017  Premiere of "Wer bin ich?" > commissioned by via nova – zeitgenössische Musik in Thüringen e.V. > ensemble diX, Kathleen Danke. soprano
    • 2017  Premiere of "Bonhoeffer Fragmente" > KlosterKlangFestival Loccum > soloists of musica assoluta, Stella Jürgensen. speaker
    • 2017  Premiere of "Foreboding II" > commissioned by the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern > german hornsound, Slagwerk Den Haag
    • 2017  Premiere of cello concerto > commissioned by the Philharmonisches Orchester Kiel > Christian Poltéra. 'cello, Philharmonisches Orchester Kiel, Georg Fritzsch. conductor
    • 2017  Premiere of “outline” for violin solo > Elisabeth Kufferath. violin
    • 2017  Premiere of 2nd piano trio > commissioned by the Felix-Mendelssohn-Wettbewerb Berlin > Lux Trio
    • 2016  Invitation to participate in the project “Contemporary Music in School” through the Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung
    • 2016  Premiere of “impulse – motion” for clarinet solo and 2 clarinets > commissioned by the project Q (‘kju:) > Bettina Aust. clarinet
    • 2016  Premiere of “Echoes” for violin, viola and orchestra > Isabelle Faust. violin, Boris Faust. viola > musica assoluta > Thorsten Encke. conductor
    • 2016  Premiere of “Water Melodies” for viola and orchestra > Peijun Xu. viola > musica assoluta > Thorsten Encke. conductor
    • 2015  Premiere of “Foreboding for four horns” > german hornsound
    • 2015  Premiere of “Cantus in Memoriam Dietrich Bonhoeffer” for orchestra and speaker > commissioned by the orchestra Sinfonia Concertante Bremen
    • 2015  Premiere of “Ströme II” for big orchestra > commissioned by the dance theatre project OpusEinhundert > the North German Radio Orchestra
    • 2015  Premiere of “vivacity” for 14 solo strings > musica assoluta > Thorsten Encke. conductor
    • 2014  Premiere of “Hommage” for 14 players > musica assoluta > Thorsten Encke. conductor
    • 2013  Premiere of “Wanderer" – fantasia for orchestra on motifs of Richard Wagner’s "Der Ring des Nibelungen” > commissioned by the Richard Wagner-Verband Hannover e.V. > the North German Radio Orchestra > Eivind Gullberg Jensen. conductor
    • 2013  Premiere of “Quintett für Streicher” > commissioned by the North German Radio > Fabergé Quintet
    • 2012  Composer in residence at the festival “Spannungen – Musik im Kraftwerk Heimbach” > Premiere of “Préludes” for ensemble > with Christian Tetzlaff, Volker Jacobsen, Gustav Rivinius, Edicson Ruiz, Sharon Kam, Ishay Lantner, Stefan Rapp und Lauma Skride > Thorsten Encke. conductor > Recorded by Deutschlandfunk
    • 2012  Premiere of “Ströme” > commissioned by the opera Kiel > the Philharmonic Orchestra Kiel > Georg Fritzsch. conductor
    • 2011 Premiere of “Nyx” > the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen > Paavo Järvi. conductor > recorded by Deutschlandradio Kultur and Radio Bremen
    • 2010 Premiere of “Paul Klee Splitter” for actor and ensemble > Paul-Klee-Zentrum-Bern
    • 2010  Invitation to participate in the project “Contemporary Music in School” through the Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung
    • 2010  Premiere of “Un beau brin de fille” > commissioned by the orchester Sinfonia Concertante Bremen
    • 2009  Premiere of “Das atheistische Krokodil” > Staatsoper Hanover
    • 2008  Premiere of “Hymnos” > commissioned for the 700th anniversary of the town church of Celle
    • 2008  Recipient of a composition grant from the Ministry for Science and Culture, Lower Saxony
    • 2008  Premiere of “Drei Intermezzi” > commissioned by the dance theatre project “KonTakt” > the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen > Alexander Shelley. conductor
    • 2007  Premiere of the “1. Streichquartetts” > Théâtre des Champs Elysées Paris
    • 2007  Participant in “Response” project of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
    • 2006  Recipient of a composition grant from the Ministry for Science and Culture, Lower Saxony
    • 2006  Participant in “Response” project of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
    • 2005  1st Prize at the 1er Concours de Composition du Festival Pablo Casals de Prades, Premiere of the “1. Streichquartett” as part of the festival > further performances in France, Germany and Poland