Kristofer Wahlander

Video of the Lundaland Philharmonic

2012-01-31T08:59:00.003+01:00

Dear all,
The Lundaland Philharmonic Orchestra have just received and uploaded a video with clips from a recent concert. Do have a look at it here. It at least sends shivers down my spine during the finale!
Watch the Lundaland Philharmonic by clicking here

Season's Greetings

2011-12-22T20:18:00.003+01:00

Dear all,
I want to wish you a very merry christmas and a happy new year. I am very glad to have a few days off to reflect on the important values in life. I hope that this short video clip will bring as much joy to you as it does to me every time I watch it - not only for the excellent music by Handel but also because it was my debut in the Grand Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg.
My very best seanson's greetings!
Kristofer

Watch Handel's Halleluja Chorus by pressing here!

2011-12-13T18:07:00.001+01:00

I am very pleased and honored to have been listed as number 8 in the Classical Music Magazine Opus's list of "20 musicians, events or phenomena that have left their mark or made an impression during the past year."

2011-11-24T20:32:00.002+01:00

Dear readers,

Yesterday, the Swedish newspaper 'Sydsvenskan' published an article about me. It is available today on their web edition. You can read it (in Swedish) by clicking here!

Kävlinge Municipality Culture Prize

2011-11-19T12:01:00.000+01:00

Dear readers,
I would like to share with you the news that I have been awarded the
Culture Prize of Kävlinge Municipality. I shall receive the award with great pleasure
on the 3rd December.
All the best
Kristofer

YesP newsletter

2011-11-15T09:53:00.002+01:00

Dear readers,

I would like to share this interview with you. It was published in a newsletter for a corporate performance development company. Click here to read it!

All the best

Kristofer

New Facebook page

2011-11-14T12:55:00.003+01:00

Dear readers,

I have opened a new Facebook page on www.facebook.com/kristoferwahlander. Do visit it for shorter more frequent updates and press the 'like button' in order to get news straight into your Facebook feed.

All the best

Kristofer

Pictures from Carmina Burana

2011-10-03T08:47:00.006+02:00

Dear readers,

Here are some pictures from our recent gala concerts with the Lundaland philharmonic orchestra. Our greatest thanks to the photographers Nicklas Rudfell and Fredrik Liljegren. The soloists on the pictures are Olle Persson and Olga Trifonova who were both absolutely brilliant. The choirs are the Helsingborg concert hall choir and the Irena choir together with Karin Fagius's childrens' choirs. Those of you who were there, thank you for two wonderful evenings.

Kristofer

2011-06-17T16:16:00.001+02:00

Dear Readers,

Sorry for the poor amount of updates recently. I have been working very hard on future projects recently. However, if you are in the Stockholm area, do feel free to come to Stortorget in Gamla Stan at 6 pm tomorrow (18th june) as I am conducting the Royal Marines Wind Band there in an outdoor concert.

All the very best and thank you for your support

Kristofer

Carmina Burana in September

2011-04-14T14:38:00.004+02:00

Dear readers,

Just a short note that I am conducting the Lundaland Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of Carmina Burana on the 3rd and 4th September. The tickets were released today and can be booked here:

http://boka.juliusbiljettservice.se/gateway.aspx?E=N&QL=S558VBG7K2GEvents.aspx

There is a book-early-discount until the 31st May.

The concert also features soprano Olga Trifonova, baritone Olle Persson, the Helsingborg concerthall choir, the Irena choir and Karin Fagius's childrens' choirs.

Read more on the Lundaland Philharmonic website: http://www.lundalandsfilharmoniker.se/

Would be great to see you all there

Kristofer

Opening Ceremony of the Malmo City Tunnel

2010-11-29T21:19:00.003+01:00

Dear readers,

I am very pleased to be able to announce that I'll be conducting the opening concert of the Malmo City Tunnel that will lead trains from Malmo City Centre to Copenhagen. At the ceremony, I'll be joined by His majesty the King of Sweden, Hakan Hardenberger, Marie Fredriksson and many other famous Swedish artists. The organisers are expecting an audience of 10 000 people and at the moment we are all working hard to make sure that it will be a great experience for them all.

The concert will take place on saturday the 4th December at 4pm at the Posthusplatsen in Malmo.

All the best

Kristofer

Lundaland Philharmonic website

2010-08-02T13:03:00.001+02:00

Dear reader,

If you have not already been there, check out the new website (in Swedish) for the Lundaland Philharmonic Orchestra at www.lundalandsfilharmoniker.se. And don't forget to press the 'facebook' icon!

All the best

Kristofer

Gala concerts with the Lundaland Phil

2010-07-13T14:10:00.004+02:00

Dear Readers,

I am currently working on two large scale gala concerts in the south of Sweden. It is our new Lundaland Philharmonic Orchestra which shall perform at Borgeby and Örtofta Castle on the 4th and 5th September respectively. The soloists are Olga Trifonova (soprano), Joachim Bäckström (tenor) and Carry Persson (baryton). The concert will feature opera arias, duets and other constellations by Verdi, Puccini, Rossini, Stenhammar and others.

The tickets are available from Julius Biljettservice at: http://www.juliusbiljettservice.se/aktuella.aspx?id=Lundalands&evID=452

You can also visit our website at: http://www.lundalandsfilharmoniker.se/

Hope to see you there!

Kristofer

Hacker attack

2010-06-21T16:12:00.001+02:00

Dear readers,

Over recent weeks I have become the victim of a vicious hacker attack targeting valuable information that is contained in my computer. By installing a key-stroke-detector in my computer, the hackers gained access to sensitive login-information and had no hesitation in using it. Fortunately these hackers were discovered and we have also managed to get their IP-address but some considerable damage was done before this. They even managed to install a virus on my site and on the site of the St. Petersburg Festival Orchestra. We have now managed to get rid of these viruses and have successfully cleaned all computers. If any of you have experienced any inconvenience when visiting our sites, then I sincerely apologise for this. A hacker attack is terrible and I really hope that I am the only one who has become the victim of this attack.

Yours Sincerely

Kristofer Wahlander

Swedish media coverage

2010-04-24T12:20:00.003+02:00

Dear Readers,

On thursday, I arrived home after an eventful few days. I had done a performance with the St. Petersburg Festival Orchestra but my flight from St. Petersburg was cancelled due to the volcanic ash. After a 7-hour taxi ride I arrived in Helsinki and took the night ferry to Stockholm where my father would meet up with my car.

While waiting for the ferry, the Swedish press started to phone! It turned out that the news of the new Lundaland Philharmonic Orchestra, which I shall head, had leaked out to the press. I am aware of how this happened but it is too long a story to write here! Anyway, it was not supposed to be printed yet as I would have preferred to have everything planned before approaching the media. But very little harm done, the Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan published a nice report in thursday's newspaper. And I even got my picture on the front page! You can read the article in Swedish by clicking here.

Just a few hours later, Swedish Radio called me! With a bad mobile connection, which interrupted the interview several times, I was able to answer some questions about this new symphony orchestra. The interview was broadcast nationally yesterday and can be heard in Swedish language by clicking here.

Lundaland Philharmonic Orchestra is a totally new freelance symphony orchestra which is financed by the European Union and different local councils. We shall do four or five concerts annually and most concerts will take place in venues that usually do not host symphony orchestras. The first concert is planned for the 4th September at the castle of Borgeby.

I shall keep you posted about this.

Kristofer

My Way with the Philharmonic Orchestra

2010-04-23T12:19:00.004+02:00

Dear Readers,

Just to let you know that my orchestration of David Mnatsakanyans piece 'My Way' will be performed by the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra in the Grand Philharmonic Hall of St. Petersburg on the 8th May this year. I am very glad that the piece and the orchestration have reached such an acknowledgement and wish the orchestra and its conductor the best of success for the concert!

If you would like to know more about the piece, read the article 'the caring face of music' in the Daily Telegraph by clicking on the title and scrolling down to the article.

Kristofer

2010-01-04T10:50:00.007+01:00

Dear Readers,

During the festive season, the following clips from our large charity concert in St. Petersburg have been added to YouTube:

Press the Full screen and the HQ-buttons for a better sound and picture experince.

Enjoy!

Kristofer

Season Greetings

2009-12-17T14:42:00.001+01:00

Dear Readers,

The year is nearing its close and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Kristofer

Article in the Daily Telegraph

2009-11-09T13:12:00.001+01:00

On tuesday the 27th October, the Daily Telegraph published the following article:

The caring face of music
On October 10, St Petersburg became the first Russian city to take part in the global event known as "Voices for Hospices", with a concert featuring works by Verdi, Bizet and Borodin. The aim of the UK-inspired initiative is to draw attention to the issues of hospice and palliative care. The conductor Kristofer Wahlander also included in the programme the premiere of My Way, his own orchestration of an interlude composed by the Russian diplomat David Mnatsakanyan - Russia's consul general in the Swedish city of Gothenburg.

Photos from Charity Gala

2009-11-04T12:06:00.014+01:00

Dear Readers,

This weekend I received some great photos from our recent Charity Gala in St. Petersburg. It was a great concert which prompted many invitations, even for one CD-recording.

I hope to be able to upload some video clips from the same concert within the next few weeks.

Enjoy!

Charity Gala in St. Petersburg

2009-09-08T11:32:00.001+02:00

Dear Readers,

The programme for the Gala-Concert that I am working on in St. Petersburg is finally ready. We have managed to secure the services of some incredible soloists and I am very much looking forwards to this concert.

10th October at 19:00

German Cathedral of S:t Peter and Paul, Nevsky-Prospect, St. Petersburg

Rimsky Korsakov The three wonders from the opera Tsar Saltan

Rimsky Korsakov Aria of the Swan Princess from the opera Tsar Saltan

Bizet Pearlfishers' duet

Verdi Prisoners' chorus from Nabucco

Mnatsakanyan (arr: Wahlander) My Way

Borodin Ulitay na kryljax vetra from Prince Igor

Puccini O mio Babbino caro from Gianni Scicchi

Puccini Te deum from Tosca

Puccini Nessun Dorma from Turandot

Rodgers/Hammerstein II You'll never walk alone

Soprano: Olga Trifonova

Tenor: Carlos D'Onofrio

Baritone: Carry Persson

St. Petersburg State Chamber Chorus (N. Korniev)

St. Petersburg Festival Orchestra

Conductor: Kristofer Wahlander

Voices for Hospices 2009

2009-06-15T13:00:00.002+02:00

Dear Reader,

Just to let you know that we are planning a large scale Opera Gala in the German Cathedral of St. Peter in St. Petersburg on the 10th October. Some excellent soloists will take part, singing the world's most famous opera arias and choruses.

I'll let you know more as it all develops.

Kristofer

Festival Orchestra Website

2009-03-26T07:32:00.001+01:00

Dear reader,

You may have noticed that the website of the St. Petersburg Festival Orchestra (www.festivalorchestra.com) is down at the moment. This is due to the fact that Lycos Webhosting closed all its business at the end of February. We have found a new service provider but unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, the move could not be finalised before the closure of Lycos. We are working on the problem and hope to be able to return with a brand new website within the next few week. In the meantime, you can access the old website here: http://www.kristoferwahlander.com/index4.htm

Concert with Lund City Orchestra

2009-02-11T12:31:00.015+01:00

Dear Reader,

My concert on sunday with Lund City Orchestra was hailed as a great success. It was sold out already two weeks before the concert and the packed hall were waiting with great expectation. The Russian consul general and composer David Mnatsakanyan had driven down to Lund all the way from Gothenburg together with vice consul Evgeny Sysoev. That was a great honour which raised expectations even more.

The soloist was Alexandra Hjortswang who is a London-based young Swedish violinist. She played the Tchaikovsky violin concerto excellently and I am sure she has a bright future ahead of her.

In the second half, it was time for the orchestra and I to perform Tchaikovsky's fifth symphony. It is a symphony which lies very close to my heart and I have performed it many times and also recorded it on CD.

Lund City Orchestra is such a special orchestra as they have something that many orchestras do not have. They give so much of themselves and we gelled extremely well already from the first rehearsal. The fact that all the musicians played their hearts out and indulged in the music without any reservation, led to a concert which was cheered to the rafters. An elderly gentleman came up to me after the concert with tears in his eyes and told me that the City Orchestra had not played that well for the 25 years it had existed. All credits to the principal conductor Roger Andersson for having developed such an excellent and devoted orchestra. Another thing that makes me respect him even more is the fact that he invites guest conductors like me to perform with his orchestra when he could well just conduct all the concerts himself. He is also quick to invite young artists to perform and his choice in Alexandra Hjortswang was ingenious. I wish the other Swedish orchestral directors had the same vision and courage as Roger Andersson.

The well renowned critic Lennart Bromander wrote in the Skanska Dagbladet the following review:

Kristofer Wahlander made, at his first visit in Lund a couple of years ago, a very good impression. He has, for a Swedish conductor, a slightly unusual education with studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire – a city in which he has been very active. It therefore looked like a good idea, for his return, to let him completely devote himself to Tchaikovsky’s music. It turned out to be just that.At the same time as the fifth symphony’s emotional realizations seemed to flow freely, he kept them under strict surveillance with sure art of balance. Tchaikovsky’s symphonies are so masterly not the least for the fact that the emotional surge is bridled by an excellent feeling of form. Kristofer Wahlander had a real flair for this and the charge of the music therefore became so much more concentrated. Wahlander is also an excellent conductor in the strictly technical field. He got the different orchestral voices to express themselves and phrase in a unified manner and the strings played not only with passion but also in an unusually supple way.

I hope this was another chapter in a long and exciting collaboration with Lund City Orchestra - an orchestra that I am always keen to return to.

Speaking to the dead

2008-11-08T18:23:00.002+01:00

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

2008-10-23T00:33:00.003+02:00

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

2008-10-15T16:02:00.001+02:00

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

2008-10-02T08:56:00.001+02:00

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

2008-09-21T19:04:00.003+02:00

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

2008-09-11T10:28:00.003+02:00

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

2008-08-29T21:56:00.004+02:00

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

2008-08-11T12:30:00.022+02:00

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

2008-08-04T20:36:00.002+02:00

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

2008-08-04T20:34:00.000+02:00

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

2008-07-31T16:06:00.001+02:00

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

2008-07-28T13:08:00.001+02:00

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

2008-07-25T16:12:00.004+02:00

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

2008-07-23T15:34:00.003+02:00

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

2008-07-22T12:34:00.001+02:00

Dear reader,

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

Enjoy!