New website!

I have a totally new website with an integrated news feature. This site will therefore no longer be updated. Be sure to visit www.kristoferwahlander.com for the latest news.
Thank you for your support.
Kristofer

Dear all,
I would like to share this video clip with you. It shows how we, with more than 100 musicians, surprised unexpecting customers at a shopping mall in the south of Sweden. Please enjoy and do share it if you like it!

Latest issue of Opus Magazine. Must confess that I am extremely pleased about this article. Thank you all for your support.

Stockholm International Music Competition

Am very, very honoured to have been invited to be on the jury for the Stockholm International Music Competition. The competition takes place in April-May and when I was there as an observer last year, I was blown away by the quality of the contestants. More than 600 participants from 32 different countries! Very much looking forwards to being on the jury.

Robert Wells and the Russian philharmonic

Here is a clip of Swedish superstar pianist Robert Wells's performance of my arrangement of David Mnatsakanyan's piece 'My way'. The orchestra is the Russian philharmonic orchestra. Very pleased that Robert and the orchestra decided to play this piece.
Click here to watch the video!

Very pleased that Swedish superstar pianist Robert Wells has decided to play my orchestration of David Mnatsakanyan's 'My way' in his 'Rhapsody in Rock' performance with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra in Moscow.

Rest in peace

Today we mourn one of the greatest conductors ever to have walked on the surface of the earth - Claudio Abbado. I'll miss his energy, charisma and his man management style that created shear magic in the concert halls.

The tickets for Lundaland Philharmonic's two gala concerts on 31st August and 1st September, at Borgeby Castle and Torup Castle respectively, have been released. Suppose that it comes as no major surprise to you that I'll be conducting. With me on stage, I'll have Olga Trifonova who has done leading roles at the Met, Salzburger festspiele and Baden-Baden and Ahmed Agadi who sings main parts at the Bolshoy Opera in Moscow and the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. You can book tickets by following this link

Just back from a short trip to St. Petersburg. I was glad to get to see the opening of the second stage of the Mariinsky theatre. It was absolutely incredible and I do not think any opera house in the world can rival the equipment and the facilities that they have. Next to the stage, there are platforms, hundreds of meters of depth where the sets are prepared for the stage. The previous decorations are lowered into the floor in order to get dismantled. The picture shows the foyer which is covered in backlit onyx and thus gives a shining impression. All this in the middle of the financial crisis! Great that some countries see culture and art as an asset rather than an expense.

Dear all,

Just a quick note that I am conducting the Lundaland Philharmonic string section in a concert in Lund City Hall on the 10th May at 19:00. The tickets can be obtained from the Lund city ticket office or by following this link: https://www.ticnet.se/event/263419

The programme features Grieg, Sibelius and Tchaikovsky as well as one or two show stoppers.

Looking forwards to this event

Kristofer

Dear all,

I have just returned from a skiing holiday in Norway. It was nice to get a rest. Just before I left, I visited the UK and especially the citys of London and Liverpool. In London I watched a rehearsal of Eugene Onegin at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. It was a so called sitzprobe where the soloists sit on the stage. It also featured the full chorus and orchestra. I think it will become a very good production and I must say that I was very impressed by the soprano Krassimira Stoyanova who sang the role of Tatiana. It was one of the best interpretations I have heard of that role and after the rehearsal she even apologised to the conductor for holding back in order to save her voice!

I also met the brilliant pianist/composer Johan Hugosson and had long and interesting discussions with the wonderful film director Jonas Grimas who lives in London.

After London, I left for Liverpool and visited the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. They performed Brahms's 4th symphony under the baton of Vassily Petrenko. It was interesting to see that Vassily and I have very similar approaches both to the music and to the audience. He addressed the audience in a very nice way and explained how the music works - using his colleagues in the orchestra to play musical examples as he described the different themes. It is, of course, far more interesting to listen to a work which you know a bit about and this is a very effective way of enhancing the experience of the listener. More of the same please!

Kris

Dear All,

As you may have noticed, my web page has been totally redisigned. I hope that you'll like the new design and that you can enjoy the content on it. So just relax, turn the volume up on the speakers and have a look around.

I would also like to inform you about my Facebook page where you also can follow me. You find it on www.facebook.com/kristoferwahlander. Feel free to press the 'like' button in order to get frequent updates and thoughts. I am very pleased that we now have followers from Sweden, Russia, Great Britain, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Taiwan, Iceland, Italy, USA, Ireland and Austria.

Thank you all for your support, I really appreciate it.

Wish you all a happy new year and a great 2013!

Kristofer

New sponsorship deal with Baker Tilly

Dear readers,
I am very pleased to be able to announce that international accountancy firm Baker Tilly has decided to support me in a sponsorship deal. I am very grateful for this support which helps me concentrate on artistic and musical matters.

 

 www.bakertilly.se

Dear friends,
I am very pleased to be able to share this link with you. It is a video from the Stockholm Culture Awards and I appear at 4:33. Hopefully this link should take you right there:
Click here to see the video!

Front page

I was very happy to make the front page of the Swedish newspaper Skånska Dagbladet this sunday!

Hot Hillbilly!

Oh dear! I have been selected as one of Sweden's hottest Hillbillies - at least according to country magazine 'Land'. Strangely enough, I am really pleased!

Stockholm Culture Prize

Dear all,
Just wanted to share this photograph from the Stockholm Culture Prize ceremony at the Royal Castle with you. The prize was awarded last weekend and I was interviewed as a previous laureate. I think the video of the interview should be available online and I'll post a link to it if that is the case.
All the best
Kristofer

Video of the Lundaland Philharmonic

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

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!

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."