Magnus Lindberg
2003
Magnus Lindberg is one of the most respected Finnish composers of art music, a modernist whose works are characterized by complex rhythms and instrumental virtuosity.
Born 27 June 1958 in Helsinki, Finland
After studies at the Sibelius Academy with Einojuhani Rautavaara and Paavo Heininen, Lindberg studied privately with Gérard Grisey and Vinko Globokar in Paris, and attended summer courses given by Franco Donatoni (Siena) and Brian Ferneyhough (Darmstadt). He also explored the possibilities of computer music at Stockholm’s EMS studios in the 1970s, at Finnish Radio, and spent much of the 1980s living in Paris while he worked at IRCAM. Lindberg was one of the founder members in 1977 of the Ears Open! Society, which did much to promote contemporary music in Finland, and in 1980 founded with Esa-Pekka Salonen the experimental Toimii Ensemble, playing piano and percussion. He has often performed with the Avanti ensemble, and formed Dos Coyotes, a piano-cello duo with Anssi Karttunen.
Lindberg has received a number of composition prizes, including the Prix Italia (1986), the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers (1986), the Nordic Council Music Prize (1988) for Kraft, and the Royal Philharmonic Society Prize for large-scale composition (1992). He was the New York Philharmonic’s composer-in-residence from 2009 to 2012 and the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s composer-in-residence from 2014 to 2017.
Major works include:
- Kraft (1985) premiered at the Helsinki Festival
- Aura (1994) commissioned by the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Fresco (1997) written for the Los Angeles Philharmonic
- Cantigas (1999) premiered by the Cleveland Orchestra
- Clarinet Concerto (2002) jointly commissioned by Finnish Radio, the Stockholm Philharmonic and Radio France
- Violin Concerto (2006) – A lyrical yet virtuosic concerto showcasing Lindberg’s evolving harmonic language
- Seht die Sonne (2007) – An orchestral piece inspired by Sibelius, known for its luminous textures.
- Graffiti (2009) – A choral-orchestral work based on ancient Latin graffiti from Pompeii
Lindberg’s music has been featured at the Aldeburgh Festival (1995), South Bank Centre’s Meltdown Festival (1996), Ars Musica Brussels (1997), Strasbourg Musica (1997), Related Rocks series in London, Paris and Brussels (2001/02), Stockholm Composer Festival (2002) and Porvoo Summer Sounds (2003). Leading interpreters include conductors Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Sakari Oramo, Oliver Knussen, Simon Rattle and Christoph von Dohnányi, cellist Anssi Karttunen and clarinetist Kari Kriikku.
Awards and prizes include:
- UNESCO International Rostrum (1982/1986)
- Nordic Council Music Prize (1988)
- Koussevitsky Prize (1988)
- Prix Italia (1986)
- Royal Philharmonic Society (1993)
- Musik Sommer Berlin European Composer Prize (2000)
