Eino Matti "Eicca" Toppinen (born 5 August 1975) is a Finnish cellist, songwriter, producer, arranger, and (as a hobby)

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer' ...

. In 1993 he formed the quartet

Apocalyptica Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Helsinki, formed in 1993. The band is composed of classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso, and jazz drummer Mikko Sirén. Originally a classic ...

Biography

Toppinen grew up in Vantaa's Hakunila and has three sisters and one brother, all of whom took instrument lessons while growing up.Metal familyman. 2006 Interview for www.vee.fi
/ref> He started playing cello when he was nine. He and his sisters made several amateur recordings for their family, usually for Christmas. He attended the

Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy ( fi, Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia, sv, Sibelius-Akademin vid Konstuniversitetet) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It al ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, where he met future Apocalyptica band members Paavo Lötjönen,

Antero Manninen Antero Manninen (born 19 January 1973), also known as ‘‘‘Mr. Cool’’’, is a session musician and former band member of Finnish Cello metal quartet Apocalyptica. He was an official member but did not write the music and left in 1999 due ...

, and Max Lilja. He played for several orchestras, including

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Finnish: ''Radion sinfoniaorkesteri'', Swedish: ''Radions symfoniorkester'') is a Finnish broadcast orchestra based in Helsinki, and the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle). The orchestra prim ...

and Avanti! chamber orchestra. He's also a founding member of the Sibelius Academy's Cellosextet. When attending Sibelius Academy, Eicca could not get an apartment or student support money because he lived too close to

, where the Academy resides. In 1993, when Toppinen was still studying in Sibelius Academy, the young Vivo Christian Orchestra played three songs from the

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instru ...

album, ''

Ride The Lightning ''Ride the Lightning'' is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 27, 1984, by the independent record label Megaforce Records. The album was recorded in three weeks with producer Flemming Rasmussen at ...

''. According to Toppinen, he bought a book of guitar music for the album, and did not have notes for any other albums. Two years later, Apocalyptica performed at Teatro Heavy Metal Club in

, on the same night with His Infernal Majesty, later to be known as HIM. A week later, Kari Hynninen of Zen Garden Records contacted Eicca to discuss a deal to make their very first record, '' Plays Metallica by Four Cellos''. After first writing songs for Apocalyptica, Toppinen also became involved in various other projects, such as the theatrical performance of ''Paper Rain'' and the Finnish Film ''Milja''. In 2007, Toppinen composed the soundtrack for the Finnish movie '' Musta Jää'' (Black Ice). On 3 February 2008 he won a

Jussi Award The Jussi Awards are Finland's premier film industry prizes, awarded annually to recognize the achievements of directors, actors, and writers. History The first Jussi Awards ceremony was held on 16 November 1944 at the Restaurant Adlon in Hels ...

for writing the score. He also wrote the movie's main theme song, sung by Hanna Pakarinen. In December, 2007, Toppinen was invited to the

Finnish Independence Day Independence Day of Finland ( fi, itsenäisyyspäivä; sv, självständighetsdagen) is a national public holiday, and a flag flying day, held on 6 December to celebrate Finland's declaration of independence from the Russian Empire when the ...

Presidential Reception in

, which he attended with his wife, Kirsi, and was prominently featured in the media. Unfortunately, this caused him to miss Apocalyptica's sold-out show in Strasbourg, France - the first time he had ever missed a performance by his band in 14 years. Toppinen was responsible for writing the score for the classical-metal crossover project

Wagner Reloaded-Live in Leipzig ''Wagner Reloaded-Live in Leipzig'' is the first live album and eleventh album overall by the Finnish cello metal band Apocalyptica. It was released on 15 November 2013 in Finland and 18 November 2013 elsewhere. It was released three years after ...

which was recorded live in

Leipzig Arena The Arena Leipzig is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Leipzig, Germany. The capacity of the arena is 8,000 people for sporting events and up to 12,200 for shows and concerts. It is part of the Sportforum Leipzig, which also contains Red B ...

in July 2013 and released as an Apocalyptica album in November 2013. Toppinen has also composed an opera commissioned by the

Finnish National Opera The Finnish National Opera and Ballet ( fi, Suomen Kansallisooppera ja -baletti; sv, Finlands Nationalopera och -balett) is a Finnish opera company and ballet company based in Helsinki. It is headquartered in the Opera House on the coast of the ...

, with his Apocalyptica bandmate Perttu Kivilaakso. Their opera is titled ''

Indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', ...

'', and "tells a sci-fi influenced story of an omnipotent multinational company and the search for happiness", premiered on 22 January 2016. In 2020, Toppinen was a guest panelist on the first season of the TV show '' Masked Singer Suomi''. Toppinen says his biggest achievement is

. In addition to being a cellist in

, he is also the drummer of the former Finnish rock band Cherry & The Vipers (together with his ex-wife, Kirsi).

Personal life

Toppinen married

Kirsi Ylijoki Kirsi Marja Ylijoki (born 29 June 1969) is a Finnish actress and singer who first achieved fame for her role in the Finnish Soap Opera ''Sydän toivoa täynnä''. Several TV roles followed. In recent years she has held back her own career to r ...

, a Finnish actress, in 1997. They lived in an expansive rural area in Sipoo, Finland. They have 2 children: Eelis, born in 1998, and Ilmari, born in 2002.They divorced in 2020.

Toppinen's idols

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well ...

James Hetfield James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder and a main songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his intricate rhythm playing, but occasionall ...

Equipment

;

Cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

Lupot (1787) Postiglione (1857) ; Bow Guillaume A.

Vigneron A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to deter ...

; Strings Thomastik-Infeld Spirocore

References

External links

Apocalyptica.com

Cellist.nl

Eicca Toppinen - photo-gallery

Interviews with Eicca Toppinen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toppinen, Eicca 1975 births 20th-century drummers 20th-century Finnish musicians 20th-century male musicians 21st-century drummers 21st-century male musicians Apocalyptica members Finnish classical cellists Finnish heavy metal cellists Finnish heavy metal drummers Finnish male composers Finnish opera composers Living people Male drummers Male opera composers People from Vantaa 20th-century Finnish composers 21st-century Finnish composers