Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra & Johannes Gustavsson, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra & Sakari Oramo
Biography Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra & Johannes Gustavsson, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra & Sakari Oramo
Christian Lindberg
In the course of an exceptional career, Christian Lindberg has single-handedly established the trombone as a solo instrument and was the first Swedish instrumentalist to perform with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 2000 an international poll dubbed Lindberg one of the five greatest brass players of the 20th century together with Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Dennis Brain and Maurice André. As a performer, he combines virtuosity with a striking vitality, as testified by the following description in a review from the Minneapolis Star Tribune: ‘If enthusiasm is contagious, Christian Lindberg is an epidemic waiting to happen… he’s a potent antidote to the stuffiness that still passes for seriousness at many a concert.’ Today Christian Lindberg devotes most of his time to composing, with commissions from ensembles such as Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra of Milan and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, but also pursues a flourishing conducting career. He is currently chief conductor of the newly established Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra in Norway and appears regularly as guest conductor with orchestras such the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra of Milan, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln and the Royal Flemish Philharmonic. His acclaimed and wide-ranging discography on BIS includes more than 50 CDs, and features him in all three roles: as trombonist, composer and conductor.
Anders Paulsson
Since his Carnegie Hall debut in 1992, Anders Paulsson (*1961) is widely recognized as one of the finest soprano saxophonists in the world. His pioneering musicianship has inspired a succession of over 60 international composers to write solo concertos and chamber music for him and another 20 commissions are scheduled to be premiered in the coming years. He has recorded 28 CDs and performed concerts in 28 countries in major music halls like Berlin Philharmonie, Alice Tully Hall, Luxembourg Philharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam with orchestras like the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Stockholm, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and St.Petersburg Philharmonic. After classical saxophone studies at the Royal College in Stockholm and with Jean-Marie Londeix in France, he was awarded a Fulbright ITT International Fellowship to study with Joseph Allard and Bob Mintzer at Manhattan School of Music, New York City where he earned a Masters Degree in Jazz Performance in 1986. Equally at ease in jazz improvisation he has collaborated with singers ranging from Anne Sofie von Otter to Alice Babs. In 2012 Anders Paulsson was awarded the Royal Gold Medal Litteris et Artibus for his prominent artistic achievements as soprano saxophonist.
As the concert world comes to life after the pandemic, he envisions musical collaborations beyond business as usual, with more creative programming and performance concepts that reach new audiences and have relevance to the most urgent issues of our time – ecological recovery and strengthening democracy.
As a passionate environmentalist he is the co-founder of Coral Guardians www.coralguardians.org, an organization that combines music and science to raise awareness about the world’s coral reefs and what is needed to safeguard them for future generations. To highlight the environmental wisdom of indigenous people, Anders Paulsson composed Coral Symphony for Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra conducted by Grammy Award winning JoAnn Falletta featuring the ancient Hawaiian Creation Epic Kumulipo chanted by Kahu Aaron Mahi as soloist.
At the Nobel festivities in 1993 Anders Paulsson performed for Nelson Mandela when he received the Nobel Peace Prize and he consequently composed a Celebration Suite for Celebrating 20 Years of Democracy in South Africa.
