Speaking to the dead

Dear reader,

The film 'Speaking to the dead' was finished just a few hours ago and I have just uploaded it on the website. It is an 11 minute portrait - outlining my work and some of my thoughts on music.

As I promised, I would let you know about it first so here it is:

Speaking to the dead

If it does not play properly, try this version with a lower resolution:

Speaking to the dead medium resolution

New film

Dear reader,

I am currently working on a new film. The purpose of it is for the audience to get to know me better. It'll be ready by next week and it will be posted here first. Check this spot!

Carmina Burana

Dear Reader,

 

I am back in Sweden after an exciting week in St. Petersburg, Russia. We played Carmina Burana to a packed hall and the audience went absolutely crazy as soon as we had finished the final chord. I hope to be able to upload some video clips when I get them in a week or two.

 

More sponsors for World Day

The Hamburg chamber of commerce, who are backing and organizing our World
Day concert of Carmina Burana, has revealed the sponsors who are helping
them.
The following companies and organizations have contributed to that concert:

Knauf
Hoch Tief
Cesla (Heidelberger Cement Group)
Osko
Janoschka Pavlovsk
Bosch Siemens Hausgeräte
Russia Consulting
Association Norden
Corinthia Nevskij Palace Hotel

Thank you all for your participation

Sponsors confirmed

Dear Reader,

All the sponsors for the Carmina Burana concert have been confirmed. The following companies have contributed a lot to our orchestra, helping us to raise funds for the Hospices in St. Petersburg on the 11th October 2008.

A great thank you to (in alphabetical order): Eltek Valere, Mannheimer Swartling, Ramboll, Remio, Roxor and TSZh Na Konyushennoy.

Carmina Burana Ensemble

Dear Reader,

The Ensemble for Carmina Burana in St. Petersburg is now ready. We have got some absolutely amazing soloists, the best concert choir in St. Petersburg and the best children's choir in the city.

Soprano: Ludmila Dudinova
Tenor: Sergey Semishkur
Baritone: Vladislav Sulimsky

St. Petersburg Radio and Television Children's choir (Artistic Director: Gribkov)
St. Petersburg State Choir (Artistic Director: Korniev)
St. Petersburg Festival Orchestra (Artistic Director: Wahlander)
Conductor: Kristofer Wahlander

I have worked with Ludmila Dudinova and Sergey Semishkur before (in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera Tsar Saltan) and I am delighted to again have the privilege to work with them.

Recording on ITunes

Dear Reader,

My recording of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 with the St. Petersburg Festival Orchestra is now available for downloading on ITunes and can be found here: http://www.apple.com/search/ipoditunes/?q=kristofer+wahlander. If you prefer to buy the CD, it is still available for sale at Toccata.nu. Click here to get to their site: http://toccata.nu/cd-label/mindfeel/La_Forza.html

Enjoy!

Music at the Fort

The Music at the Fort festival is over after three weekends full of adventures.The journey started on the 26 July when the Lund University Male Choir gathered in Barseback in order to travel to Flakfort by boat. The sea was a bit choppy and some of our singers where soaked in salt water! One of them was unfortunately wearing his tails and he promptly moved inside. But a little bit of water was not to ruin such a great event and all the singers arrived in a good mood at the fort. What then followed were some hours of complete madness. They had never had a concert at the fort before and we were in for many unexpected surprises. So I was extremely happy when I could ring the bell on time for the audience to enter the hall.

We had invited Tomas Hakansson, an actor, to introduce all the concerts. He did it in such a charismatic and violent way that I think some members of the audience got frightened!

The choir gave an excellent concert and I think many people in the audience were surprised by the quality of the singers. The choir unfortunately carries the very modest name of a university choir although none of the singers are students. They are also much maligned by the tradition that they invite everybody who has ever sung in the choir to take part in their famous televised spring performance on the steps to the Lund University. Many of the singers who have long left the choir no longer possess the voice to sing those spring songs and the result is less than pleasing. But when the real core of the choir is singing, they are one of the leading male choirs in the world.Having said that, some members of the audience had traveled some distance to see the concert. One group had flown from the Faroe Islands and one couple had flown in from Stockholm. After the concert, the audience and the choir all marched through the candle lit corridors of the fort to the restaurant pavilion. The choir kept singing all night and the audience were overwhelmed by the quality and the sheer joy which the singers were radiating.

The weekend after, we had gathered a real world class string orchestra by inviting leaders from such orchestras as the Danish Radio Orchestra, The Royal Danish Opera, The Tivoli Orchestra and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. I was conducting the concert myself and it was a great pleasure to work with such excellent musicians. We all stayed at the fort over the course of the rehearsals and the concerts and I got to know the players very well. They all turned out to be not only great musicians but also very nice people and we had some excellent days together. The first concert took place on the Saturday 2nd August and was extremely well received by the audience. I introduced the concert myself from the podium and it is always such a pleasure when you are not the only person laughing at your jokes. The leader Frederik Oland turned out to be an excellent leader and he inspired the orchestra to a marvelous performance. All sections played extremely well and it was a great joy to conduct. We were rewarded with a standing ovation at the end.The day after, we had another concert and I was worried that we had discharged all our batteries on the first one. But with another packed hall, the orchestra recharged immediately and the success was a fact once again.

The finale of the festival took place on the 9th August when the classical guitarist Craig Ogden visited us. I knew before how good Craig is as I have worked with him before but the audience was left marveling at his playing. There is no doubt that Craig Ogden is one of the best guitarists in the world and he showed exactly that at Flakfort. Many of the pieces were well know guitar repertoire pieces but they sounded so fresh in Craig Ogden’s interpretation. Everybody was extremely pleased with how it went and for the first time, I had the opportunity to travel home on the same ship as the audience. The atmosphere was great and it was a very special moment to see Flakfort disappearing in front of the sunset.

Conductor goes underground

On Friday, the Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan published a good article about me and the 'Music at the Fort' festival. It is in Swedish and can be seen here: http://sydsvenskan.se/nojen/article352240/Dirigent-gar-under-jorden.html

An amazing weekend

On Friday, some excellent musicians gathered on Flakfort, the former top secret military island where we now have our music festival. I had invited a group of leaders from some of the best orchestras in northern Europe. We had people from the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and even the London Symphony Orchestra. We had our first rehearsal on Friday evening and finished late in the evening. The musicians were absolutely marvelous and it sounded excellent even during the first rehearsal. We continued to rehearse all Saturday and in the evening we gave our first concert to a hall, packed to capacity. It went extremely well and I was especially pleased with our interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. The crowd was absolutely delighted and we got standing ovations at the end.

We were then worried that we did not have time to recharge our batteries as we had another concert on the Sunday. But my fears were calmed when one of the musicians told me that they had a saying in Denmark that if there is water in the swimming pool, then you start to swim. And there was plenty of water in the shape of a packed hall! And the musicians played excellently again.

It was very nice to work with such top class musicians. They seemed to enjoy it too and the general feeling after the concert was that we have to do it again. And I certainly agree – now when we have put together such an excellent string orchestra, it would be a shame not to play together again.
So I hope to be able to let you know when we are playing again soon…

Carmina Burana in St. Petersburg

Today I received a phone call saying that I am conducting Carmina Burana by Carl Orff in St. Petersburg on the 11th October. I have known about this engagement for a while but it was only confirmed today. It is a charity concert raising funds for the Hospices in St. Petersburg. I’ll be conducting my own orchestra and I am really looking forwards to it.

But at the moment I am in the middle of my ‘Music at the fort’ festival and I am conducting on Saturday and Sunday so I have to think more about St. Petersburg next week. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out more.

An incredible night

On Saturday we opened the ‘Music at the fort’ festival. It really was an amazing event and I am glad that I even managed to relax for half an hour and see the first half of the concert. The audience was very appreciative and some members of the audience even came up to one of our stewards and said they had to pinch their arms as they thought they were dreaming. I cannot imagine better praise than that!
The Lund University Male Choir gave a marvellous concert and showed exactly why they sold 80 000 CDs last year. It really is an incredible choir - arguably one of the best male choirs in the world.
After the concert, the choir joined the audience for dinner. But the choir members obviously did not think that they had sung enough, as they kept singing in the restaurant all night. I do not know whether it was the singing that was affected by the drinking or whether it was my perception that was altered, but the more we drank the better it sounded!
The adventure continues…

Interview on Swedish national radio

Dear reader,

Today I was featuring in a national radio programme in Sweden. I was interviewed about our Music at the Fort festival which opens tomorrow. The coverage is in Swedish and can be heard here:
http://www.sr.se/webbradio/webbradio.asp?type=db&Id=1271094&BroadcastDate=&IsBlock=0

The launch of a totally new music festival

Dear reader,

On Saturday, I'll launch a totally new festival. It is not the biggest that I have launched but it is certainly the most different! Taking place on a former top secret military fort on an island in between Sweden and Denmark, 'Music at the fort' is supposed to unite the two countries in music. The audience are coming from both countries and meet 'half ways' on this island.

We are picking people up in big boats in Sweden and Denmark respectively and taking them to the fort.The concerts will take place in a bunker that used to be the 'power-hall' housing large generators of electricity. After the performances, people will enjoy a good dinner in the restaurant pavillon after which we'll take them back to the mainland by boat.

The concerts themselves are also very different. On Saturday the 26th July, we have the Lund University Choir visiting. It sounds modest but it is not a student choir but a team of 40 very highly qualified singers. They will also join all the guests in a party afterwards where they will sing Swedish traditional drinking songs in beautiful arrangements.

The week after, I am on the podium myself with the Flakfort virtuosi. It is a string orchestra consisting of section leaders from many different orchestras – even the London Symphony Orchestra! We are gathering a few days before and shall stay on the island and rehearse together. We shall sleep in the fortress and it will hopefully be a few days full of music, friendship and lots of fun. I am really looking forwards to working with such incredible musicians.

The closing of the festival will see Craig Ogden performing in our underground hall. Craig is a marvellous guitarist and if you ask me (and many with me), I would say that he is the best in the world. We are very much looking forwards to having him here.

I'll let you know how it all goes. Watch this spot!

New news page

Dear reader,

 

Welcome to my new news page. I will from now on post news messages myself on this spot.

 

Enjoy!