Marianna Liik (b. 1992) graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2017 with a Master’s degree in composition under Helena Tulve and Margo Kõlar; in 2014, she earned her Bachelor’s degree there in electroacoustic composition under Margo Kõlar and Malle Maltis. From 2017 to 2018, she furthered her studies at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp as a student of Wim Henderickx. Marianna Liik has written music for orchestra, ensembles, and choir, as well as electroacoustic works, theatre music, and sound designs. Her particular interest lies in the soundworld created by merging electronic and acoustic means of expression. Liik’s music is rich in detail and color, featuring acoustic and electronic timbre fields, with a strong emphasis on a unified formal whole.
In 2013, Marianna Liik took second place in the under-30 category at the International Rostrum of Composers in Prague with her electronic work Mets (Forest). In 2014, she won the West German Broadcasting (WDR) Film Music Award at the European film music and sound festival SoundTrack_Cologne 11. In 2017, Liik received the Lucerne Festival Academy’s “Roche Young Commissions” award for young composers. Her work Adapt to prevailing stream and become able to see clearly was selected for the ISCM World Music Days festival program in 2018, followed by Out of breath for violin, cello, and electronics in 2024. In 2022, Marianna Liik released her debut album Januneb valgust (Thirsting for Light), and in 2023, she was honored with the Annual Prize of the Endowment for Music of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.
Photo: Ave Palm