In his teens, Ziv Eitan tried everything from journalism to soccer. In the end he chose marimba.
By MAXIM REIDER
In his teens, Ziv Eitan tried everything from journalism to soccer. In the end he chose marimba.
"The marimba is sort of a huge xylophone. It's as powerful as a drum, so that it allows you to unleash your energy, but it is also able to sing like a cello," says the 35-year-old Israeli musician.
His insatiable personality seems to demand as much music as possible: "In the morning, I perform for kids in schools. In the evening I can play classics with the Philharmonic or solo, and at later hours you can find me at night clubs playing electronic music with a DJ."
Eitan says that as a result of all his influences, he has created a new style which is a combination of classical and electronic.
"I take leading Israeli composers such as Zach Drori, Yosef Bardanashvili, Gil Shohat, Ronen Shapiro and others and lay on music for marimba, strings, cello and computer."
Ziv Eitan emphasizes that all these composers have nothing to do with the musical avant-garde, "which simply is not communicative and is good only for an academy. I write emotive music, as if I lived in Europe 200 years ago and just add new elements like marimba or computer, which did not exist in those days."
Eitan will also be playing his adaptation for marimba of a 14-minute selection from Bach's "Chaconne."
"This introverted piece speaks about the very essence of human existence. Actually, after 'Chaconne,' there's no need for any other music. But the concert does go on, and afterwards I play a Japanese piece which is very masculine, with a lot of power and show. And then I present another facet of my personality - playing a tender piece with many cello fragments."
Video images also add to his shows. Accompanying Eitan in concert Thursday night are cellist Yoed Nir as well as an additional percusionist/marimbist, Yoni Givoni.