Composer, ECU member since 2022Born on 09.08.1994
Hõbepappel, Liisa is a freelance writer and composer. She uses sound to describe and unravel aspects of philosophy, society, and culture. Her music is
bright and mosaic-like and focuses on intricate details that come together in an interwoven web of meaning. Her music has been compared to nuanced
graphic art.
In 2021, Hõbepappel earned her bachelor’s degree in music composition from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (supervisor Toivo Tulev). In
addition, she has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and communication from the University of Tartu and has graduated from the Heino Eller music school
at Tartu (composition, supervisors Katrin Aller and Alo Põldmäe).
As a journalist, Hõbepappel has engaged in multiple efforts to explain music to a wider audience. Her essays and interviews have been published in the
culture-focused newspaper Sirp and she has performed as a radio voice in Klassikaraadio (Radio of Classics).
Achievements
One of her most recent works Sina, armas, oled manner (You Are a Continent, My Dear) opened the 2021 Tallinn Music Week, performed by Trio 95’.
Music journalist John Robb writes that a spellbinding set of strange time signatures and scratching, scraping sounds in her work create a unique and
hypnotic atmosphere: “The hanging on a cliff edge by your finger nail timings /…/ give the feeling that this atmospheric music could collapse at any moment
and yet structurally stands firm. It feels like these dynamics are somehow a narrative for these times.”
In spring 2021, Hõbepappel’s On the seashore of endless worlds children meet was performed and recorded by the Belgian contemporary music quartet
Fractales. In this piece, Hõbepappel depicts the limitless joy and clarity of children, the softness and the variety of their play.
In her work, Hõbepappel has often used historical texts to create unconventional parallels between the present and the past. In her L’avons Nous Perdue?, she used a poetic letter by the 16 th century poetess Marguerite de Navarre to talk about climate change. She expresses concern that if our
contemporary society fails to protect the environment, we will be condemned by the generations that follow.
One of Hõbepappel’s most important compositions Inferno was performed in 2017 by the Italian contemporary music ensemble L’Arsenale. This piece uses
Dante’s poem by the same name to draw attention to the wretchedness of life during the Renaissance in contrast to the usual glorifying depiction of the period.
In 2020, Hõbepappel was awarded the Artur Lemba stipend. Liisa Hõbepappel’s music has been performed, amongst others, by the Estonian National Young Male Choir, the Boys Choir of the Estonian National Opera, string quartet Prezioso, the pianist Sten Heinoja, organist Kadri Toomoja, and mezzosoprano Iris Oja.
Additional links:
Tallinn Music Week „Sina, armas, oled manner“
Estonian National Male Choir „Õhk on minu pärisosa“
Liisa Hõbepappel’s interview with Märt-Matis Lill