|
about swedish hall concerts
On the 12th of June 2008 a first Anglo-Swedish Musical Event was organized in co-operation with SEB,
Embassy of Sweden, Swedish Chamber of Commerce and the Swedish Church in presence of H.E. the
ambassador of Sweden Mr. Staffan Carlsson. Speeches were given by the Ambassador, Roger Gifford
of SEB and the projects initiator the violinist Björn Kleiman. Malin Christensson, soprano,
currently at Glyndebourne Opera, performed songs by Stenhammar, Rangström and Shield. She was
later joined on stage by her husband the American Bass Phil Gerrard in duos by Mozart from
the Magic Flute. Björn Kleiman, violin and Johan Hugosson, piano also played works by Aulin,
Chopin and Franck.
We would like to thank Mr Roger Gifford and SEB for their generous contribution
in making this evening possible.
Björn Kleiman is based in London and has been working as a solo and chamber
musician, teacher and arranger for a number of years. Mr Kleiman's vision is to
create a venue for music and art from Sweden. London is one of the biggest cities
in the world and whatever happens here has a big impact on the rest of Europe.
Swedish contemporary music and art has a well-deserved reputation abroad and is
receiving more and more attention outside Sweden. British ensembles and artists
should be encouraged to perform music by Swedish composers and vice versa. There
will be seven concerts this season, three in the autumn and four in the spring,
with concerts always starting at 7pm on the first Tuesday of the month.
We are working to co-operate with Concerts Sweden (Rikskonserter) and Riksförbundet
Sveriges Kammarmusikföreningar RSK to offer young and talented musicians in Sweden
a chance to perform abroad and to a reach a wider audience outside Sweden.
Swedish Musicians and artists studying and working in the UK should be encouraged
to bring along their British friends to perform in these series. This is to be a
showcase of Swedish talent to an international audience and support the
Anglo-Swedish connections.
London needs a venue where people can experience the best in Swedish culture,
music, art and food. The Swedish Hall is perfectly situated, it has nice acoustics,
a good stage and a suitable size for chamber music. With London being inhabited
by so many Swedes and with a fantastic musical heritage less known than that of
our Scandinavian neighbours it is high time to launch this project.
Most welcome to our concerts!
|
|
