New releases:

“ When composing Tommie Haglund goes straight to the expression and his inner feelings. Because of this his music becomes extremely direct and immensely emotive,” says the cellist John Ehde, one of the strongly devoted musicians around Tommie Haglund who have appeared intent on bringing his music to the public. Thanks to the American violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn performing on the legendary Mendelssohn -Violin ”The Red Violin” Hymns to the Night, Haglund’s music have been widely circulated. Tommie Haglund’s music embodies a powerful spirituality. This is hinted at in many of his titles, such as Hymnen an die Nacht/Hymns to the Night, borrowed from the German author Novalis and the awarded Daughter of the Voice which celebrated the 700th anniversary of the birth of Saint Birgitta.  

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The peärls before swïne experience (Sara Hammarström ,flutes, George Kentros ,violin, Mats Olofsson, cello, and Mårten Landström ,piano) was formed in 1995. With the idea of performing only short pieces, they have commissioned their own repertoire consisting of over 120 works from 20 countries, written by composers such as Anders Hillborg, Mikael Edlund, David Lang, and Tristan Murail. ” If there is a "swïne aesthetic"- keeping in mind that we began as a reaction to a certain mystification of music - it is that we try to be consciously unpretentious and rather direct when we play and we also try to find an emotional center in everything we play. ” 

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From the opening fanfaric theme of Grains and the sorrowful moaning of Pisagua, to Elements, a jazz orchestra masterpiece, Ann-Sofi Söderqvist astonishes, elates and energizes the listener with her compositions.  

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Stenhammar Quartet is one of Scandinavia's leading quartets. Their performance is characterized by a warm and energetic musicianship together with striking technical refinement. One aspect of the quartet's profile is its work with contemporary music. Here string quartets by prominent composers like Mats Larsson Gothe, Anders Hillborg, Per Mårtensson and Mika Pelo are presented. 

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To move in order to stay in one place, to use tradition to find the way forward: this is also how B Tommy Anderson's music can be summed up. What one notices above all in his music , aside from it sounding natural, is a feeling of longing. B Tommy Andersson's list of works is quite large, and includes a great number of orchestral works, solo concertos, chamber music works, and pieces for choir. In this composer portrait all categories are represented with the orchestral work Satyricon, Reflections for soprano saxophone and orchestra, the Horn Concerto, the choral works Sonnet XVIII and Kyssar vill jag dricka (I Would Drink Kisses) and Pieces for Pontus for solopiano. 

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The meeting between a jazz quintet - Johan Berke Upstairs Five - and a brass quintet is the starting point for the music on this CD. Johan Berke and Fredrik Nordström used the unique sound and expression of each individual group in the composing process. The result can be described as a synthesis of jazz, European contemporary classical music and free improvisation. A commission was made in 2007 by The Swedish Arts Grants Committee for the new ensemble Arveheim/Berke Upscale Ten and the music was premiered at the concert hall in Nybrokajen 11 the same year. 

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Four new works by the Swedish composers Henrik Strindberg, Pär Frid, Djuro Zivkovic and Benjamin Staern were recorded during the summer of 2008. Together with compositions by Karin Rehnqvist, Victoria Borisova-Ollas and Mattias Lysell this CD presents a document of time with great dynamics and poetry. 

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The pieces chosen for this CD have a communicative and immediate character. The music has lightness and a swing, and it is the joy of playing that is the starting point: the dance-like, the humorous, and the playful. The Rhythm Art Duo specializes in presenting new percussion music in such a way that people of all ages can understand and enjoy it.  

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Britta Byström’s music feels spontaneous but is exceptionally well thought out - ascetic, but still playful . Like a Japanese garden. Britta Byström is a pronounced orchestral composer. Her list of works contains few works for voice, but an important exception is her chamber opera, If One Loses One’s Luggage. The final aria is sung by Patricia "from the other side”: Who among you shall leave your world? Britta Byström shows here how beautiful desolation can be. Impressionistic minimalism might it just be another possible description of Britta Byström’s musical world?  

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Is such a thing as nationality reflected in music composed today? Victoria Borisova-Ollas’ music bears the imprints of a youth spent in Russia. And although her work bears some traces of influence by Shostakovich and by the Minimalist School, this internationally sought-after composer likes to think of her musical voice as being simply her own. The scores of Victoria Borisova-Ollas are densely crafted with a strong narrative content. Her first symphony, entitled The Triumph of Heaven (2001), is her most decidedly Russian work. And she considers herself a storyteller, much in the vein of the Russian tradition .  

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Like other great jazz composers before him, Georg Riedel makes his tonal paintings with the colours of the individueal players. Individual indeed - here are some of the foremost voices in the history of Swedish jazz, The Swedish Radio Jazz Group including among othersJan Johansson, Arne Domnerus, Jan Allan, Lennart Åberg, Claes Rosendahl, Rune Gustafsson, Bosse Broberg, Nils Landgren, Egil Johansen.  

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Klas Lindquist had nine specific musicians in mind when he wrote this music. The different personalities and his style of writing forms the music on his first album. Here you can find traces of swing, bebop, Ellington and Strayhorn with emphasis on melody and beat . 

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Anders Jonhäll is an exceedingly sensitive musician whose contributions to the orchestra most often shine, whether it is Mozart or Boulez being performed. Common for the composers Per Mårtensson, André Chini, and Arne Mellnäs is a form of listening that is simultaneously both experimental and anchored in tradition. Also uniting the six workson this cd is a play around the meaning of virtuosity, its technical and human challenges, the meeting between the virtuoso and the lyrical.  

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Kent Olofsson is internationally known for his chamber music written in close collaboration with ensembles and musicians. Corde and The Bells culminations in his production, here series of works for guitar, percussion, choir, solovoices and chamber ensembles are melded together into a powerful synthetic conclusion. 

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Exciting beat in big band jazz by Per Tjernberg Per Tjernberg has released several recordings previously but this is the first cd-recording of his compositions for big band. Three drummers and Per Tjernberg himself on percussion gives an exciting beat to this big band with musicians from the Swedish jazz elite. Musicians: Ulf Adåker, Bengt Berger, Ulf Bjurenhed, Christer Bothén, Jonas Eklund, Åke Eriksson, Desmond Foster, Nils Janson, Klas Jervfors, Tommy Koverhult, Sven Larsson, Magnus Lindgren, Bernt Rosengren, Christian Spering, Bobo Stenson, Per Tjernberg, Mattias Ståhl, Magnus Wiklund, David Wilczewski, Morgan Ågren, Mats Öberg 

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The music in Drama was originally written for the theatre. Much of the inspiration for the works comes from a stage situation where the music functions as a counterpoint to the text and where returning motives become important cornerstones. The compositions were commissioned in connection with the respective productions at the Gothenburg City Theatre: Hamlet - premiere in 1997; Albert Speer - premiere in 2001 (at Stora Teatern); and The Tempest - premiere in 2002.  

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Here we can meet the entire Håkan Broström: a superb jazz soloist, an extremely talented songwriter whose melodies have the ability to "stick" and echo on within the listener, and one who can also handle an orchestral palette with verve. This is a CD that grows, revealing new aspects with each listening. It is music to which one often can return. 

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