Short English Version
Rolf Martinsson serves as professor of composition at the Malmö Academy of Music, Lund University and is a Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.
The world premiere of “Bridge - Trumpet Concerto” 1999 by Håkan Hardenberger, led to the international scene, and the concerto has been frequently performed since then. Bridge was followed by a number of solo concertos and vocal works for soloists such as Lisa Larsson, Anne Sofie von Otter, Martin Fröst, Mats Lidström, Christian Lindberg, Anders Paulsson, Dan Styffe and Felix Klieser.
The longstanding successful collaboration with Swedish soprano Lisa Larsson has led to major international commissions and premieres and marks a vocal milestone in Martinsson’s production. The collaboration includes a number of works, among them “Orchestral Songs on Poems by Emily Dickinson”, “Ich denke Dein...”, “Garden of Devotion”, “To the Shadow of Reality”, “St Luke Passion” and “Into Eternity”, commissioned for the inauguration of Malmö Live in 2015. Martinsson’s vocal arrangements for Lisa Larsson include her concepts “Hommage an Clara” with music by Clara Schumann, “Walzer-Gesänge”/Alexander von Zemlinsky and “Traumreise”/Franz Berwald. Their collaboration is documented at four composer portraits at BIS, Challenge Records and Daphne labels.
Another chapter in Martinsson’s writing is his orchestral works “Dreams”, “Concerto for Orchestra”, “Open Mind”, “Shimmering Islands”, “Tour de force”, “Opening Sounds” and the string orchestra pieces “A. S. in Memoriam”, “Kalliope” and “String Moments”.
Martinsson was featured composer at Stockholm International Composer Festival in 2008 and has been Composer in Residence with Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra at Concertgebouw and Malmö Symphony Orchestra among others. His collaborations have led to performances in venues such as Carnegie Hall/New York, Musikverein and Konzerthaus/Vienna, Philharmonie and Konzerthaus/Berlin, Gewandhaus/Leipzig, Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw/Amsterdam, Royal Festival Hall and Wigmore Hall/London, La Philharmonie/Paris, Salzburger Festspielhaus, and Suntory Hall, Opera City Hall and Metropolitan Art Space/Tokyo.
Rolf Martinsson’s collaborations include Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, NDR Elbphilharmonie/Hamburg, ORF Radio- Symphonieorchester Wien, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and all the major Nordic orchestras in collaboration with conductors such as Andris Nelsons, Manfred Honeck, Sakari Oramo, Alan Gilbert, Klaus Mäkelä and Santtu-Matias Rouvali.
Martinsson has received the awards “Stora Christ Johnson-priset”, “Rosenbergpriset” and “Litteris et Artibus” and his music is represented at some 30 CDs. Several European orchestras have toured his music internationally and his works have been present at music festivals such as Robeco Summer Nights, Concertgebouw and George Enescu Festival. Future commissions include an opera, “Amy”, for the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, “Requiem” for Växjö Domkyrka among other commissioners and “Symphony No. 1” for the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.
August 2024
Long English Version
Rolf Martinsson serves as professor of composition at the Malmö Academy of Music, Lund University and is a Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.
The world premiere of “Bridge - Trumpet Concerto” 1999, dedicated to and premiered by Håkan Hardenberger, led to the international scene and the concerto has been frequently performed since the premiere by the commissioner Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra/Neeme Järvi in 1999. Bridge was followed by a row of solo concertos, dedicated to a number of soloists and written with their special skills and personalities in mind. “Fairlight – Trombone Concerto”/Christian Lindberg, “Cello Concerto”/Mats Lidström, “Shimmering Blue – Flute Concerto”/Magnus Båge, “Violin Concerto”/Jan Stigmer, “Concert Fantastique – Clarinet Concerto”/Martin Fröst, “Double Bass Concerto”/Dan Styffe, “Golden Harmony – Soprano Saxophone Concerto”/Anders Paulsson and “Soundscape – Horn Concerto”/Felix Klieser.
After the premieres the concertos have been picked up by other soloists: Bridge/Ole Edvard Antonsen, Giuliano Sommerhalder and Per Ivarsson, Concert Fantastique/Magnus Holmander and Double Bass Concerto/Edicson Ruiz and Gunars Upatnieks.
The longstanding successful collaboration with Swedish soprano Lisa Larsson has led to major international commissions and premieres and marks a vocal milestone in Martinsson’s production. The revised edition for soprano of “Orchestral Songs on Poems by Emily Dickinson” initiated the collaboration that was followed by “To the Shadow of Reality” for soprano, solo violin and string quartet, “Garden of Devotion” for soprano and string orchestra and “Ich denke Dein…” for soprano and orchestra, jointly commissioned by Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. The following collaboration “Into Eternity”, for soprano and large orchestra, was commissioned by Malmö Symphony Orchestra/Marc Soustrot for the inauguration of Malmö Live in 2015. Lisa Larsson has been evangelist many times in Martinsson’s “St. Luke Passion” and she also sang that part at the world premiere of the German version, with Bach Collegium Zürich/Bernhard Hunziker.
Martinsson has been internationally recognized for his orchestration skills, and another important part of the collaboration with Lisa Larsson is his vocal arrangements. Lisa Larsson has created two unique concepts: “Traumreise”, on songs by Franz Berwald, commissioned and premiered by Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich/Lahav Shani and “Hommage an Clara”, on songs by Clara Schumann, commissioned and premiered by Malmö Symphony Orchestra/Juraj Valčuha, both pieces scored for soprano and orchestra and premiered by Lisa Larsson in Martinsson’s orchestrations. Additional orchestrations as part of the collaboration are: “Walzer-Gesänge Op. 6”/Alexander von Zemlinsky, “L’amerò sarò costante”/Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, “Infelice”/Felix Mendelssohn and “Two Songs”/Wilhelm Stenhammar, orchestrated for soprano and orchestra. The collaboration also includes four composer portraits at BIS, Challenge Records and Daphne labels. The vocal repertoire has been picked up by other sopranos such as Elizabeth Llewellyn, Hanna Husáhr, Ivana Lazar, Hester Henzepeter and Kristine Nowlain. The mezzo-soprano version of Orchestral Songs on Poems by Emily Dickinson was written for and premiered by Anne Sofie von Otter, Malmö Symphony Orchestra and Vassily Sinaisky and Martinsson’s commission from the Cello Biënnale Amsterdam 2014 for soprano, cello and string orchestra was premiered by Lisette Bolle, Jakob Koranyi and Netherlands Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Bas Wiegers.
Another chapter in Rolf Martinsson’s writing is his orchestral works. “Dreams”, “Concerto for Orchestra”, “Open Mind”, “Shimmering Islands”, “Tour de force”, “Opening Sounds”, “Poem for Orchestra”, “Impression”, “Chamber Concerto No. 2” and the string orchestra pieces “A. S. in Memoriam”, “Kalliope” and “String Moments”.
Martinsson was featured composer at Stockholm International Composer Festival in 2008 and has been Composer in Residence with Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and Netherlands Chamber Orchestra at Concertgebouw and with Malmö Symphony Orchestra among others. His collaborations have led to performances in venues such as Carnegie Hall/New York, Musikverein and Konzerthaus/Vienna, Philharmonie and Konzerthaus/Berlin, Gewandhaus/Leipzig, Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw/Amsterdam, Royal Festival Hall and Wigmore Hall/London, La Philharmonie/Paris, Salzburger Festspielhaus, and Suntory Hall, Opera City Hall and Metropolitan Art Space/Tokyo.
Rolf Martinsson’s music is performed by orchestras such as Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Bamberger Symphoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, NDR Elbphilharmonie/Hamburg, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Deutsche Radiophilharmonie Saarbrücken-Kaiserslautern, Tonkünstler-Orchester, ORF Radio- Symphonieorchester Wien, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Avanti, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Sinfonietta Riga and all the major Nordic orchestras in collaboration with conductors such as Andris Nelsons, Manfred Honeck, Sakari Oramo, Alan Gilbert, Paavo Järvi, Edward Gardner, Andrew Manze, John Storgårds, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Klaus Mäkelä, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Antonello Manacorda, Simon Crawford-Phillips, Patrik Ringborg and soloists such as Hans Pålsson, Wissam Boustany, Peter Jablonski, Francisca Skoogh, Jacques Werup and Helen Jahren.
Martinsson studied teaching, music theory and composition 1975-1985 at the Malmö Academy of Music, Lund University. His teachers among others were Brian Ferneyhough, Sven-David Sandström, Sven-Erik Bäck, Sven-Eric Johansson, Hans Eklund, Jan W. Morthenson and Sten Ingelf. In addition to being a devoted composer Martinsson is a dedicated chess player.
Rolf Martinsson has received the awards “Stora Christ Johnson-priset”, “Rosenbergpriset” and “Litteris et Artibus”. His music is represented at some 30 CDs. Several European orchestras have toured his music internationally and his works are frequently present at music festivals such as Robeco Summer Nights at Concertgebouw, George Enescu Festival, Reingau Music Festival, Kissinger Sommer, International Chamber Music Festival Stavanger, Båstad Chamber Music Festival, Lyckå Chamber Music Festival, Musik i Kullabygden among others. Future commissions include an opera, “Amy”, for the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, “Requiem” for Växjö Domkyrka among other commissioners and “Symphony No. 1” for the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.
August 2024
Kort svensk version
Rolf Martinsson är kompositionsprofessor vid Musikhögskolan i Malmö, Lunds universitet och ledamot av Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien.
Uruppförandet av ”Bridge - Trumpet Concerto” 1999 med Håkan Hardenberger ledde till den internationella scenen och konserten har blivit flitigt framförd sedan dess. Efter Bridge följde en rad solokonserter och vokalverk för solister som Lisa Larsson, Anne Sofie von Otter, Martin Fröst, Mats Lidström, Christian Lindberg, Anders Paulsson, Dan Styffe och Felix Klieser.
Det långa framgångsrika samarbetet med svenska sopranen Lisa Larsson har lett till internationella beställningar och premiärer och är en milstolpe i Martinssons produktion. Samarbetet inkluderar en mängd verk som till exempel “Orchestral Songs on Poems by Emily Dickinson”, “Ich denke Dein...”, “Garden of Devotion”, “To the Shadow of Reality”, “Lukaspassionen” och “Into Eternity”, beställt till invigningen av Malmö Live 2015. Martinssons vokala arrangemang för Lisa Larsson inkluderar hennes koncept “Hommage an Clara” med musik av Clara Schumann, “Walzer-Gesänge op 6”/Alexander von Zemlinsky och “Traumreise”/Franz Berwald. Deras samarbete är dokumenterat på fyra tonsättarporträtt på BIS, Challenge Records och Daphne.
Ett annat kapitel i Martinssons produktion är hans orkesterverk “Dreams”, “Concerto for Orchestra”, “Open Mind”, “Shimmering Islands”, “Tour de force”, “Opening Sounds” och stråkorkesterverken “A. S. in Memoriam”, “Kalliope” och “String Moments”.
Martinssons musik stod i centrum vid Stockholms Internationella Tonsättarfestival 2008. Han har varit Composer in Residence vid Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra och Netherlands Chamber Orchestra i Concertgebouw, Amsterdam och med Malmö SymfoniOrkester med flera. Hans samarbeten har lett till framföranden i Carnegie Hall/New York, Musikverein och Konzerthaus/Wien, Philharmonie och Konzerthaus/Berlin, Gewandhaus/Leipzig, Concertgebouw och Muziekgebouw/Amsterdam, Royal Festival Hall och Wigmore Hall/London, La Philharmonie/Paris, Salzburger Festspielhaus, och Suntory Hall, Opera City Hall och Metropolitan Art Space/Tokyo.
Rolf Martinssons samarbeten inkluderar Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, NDR Elbphilharmonie/Hamburg, ORF Radio- Symphonieorchester Wien, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, alla de ledande nordiska orkestrarna i samarbete med dirigenter som Andris Nelsons, Manfred Honeck, Sakari Oramo, Alan Gilbert, Klaus Mäkelä, Paavo Järvi och Santtu-Matias Rouvali.
Martinsson har mottagit utmärkelser som “Stora Christ Johnson-priset”, “Rosenbergpriset” och “Litteris et Artibus” och hans musik är representerad på cirka 30 CD-inspelningar.
Många europeiska orkestrar har turnerat internationellt med Martinssons musik och hans verk har programsatts vid festivaler som Robeco Summer Nights, Concertgebouw och George Enescu Festival. Framtida beställningar inbegriper en opera, “Amy”, till Kungliga Operan i Stockholm, “Requiem” för Växjö Domkyrka tillsammans med andra sambeställare och “Symfoni nr 1” för Kungliga Filharmoniska Orkestern i Stockholm.
Augusti 2024
