Erling Blöndal Bengtsson From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Erling Blöndal Bengtsson B. 8. March 1932 in Copenhagen, Denmark. - D June 6 2013 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. ERLING BLÖNDAL BENGTSSON was one of the great cellists of the 20th century. A larger-than-life sized bronze statue of ERLING BLÖNDAL BENGTSSON stands in front of Reykjavik´s Concert hall in Iceland´s capital city. Erected in 1970, the statue, by the Icelandic sculptress Olöf Palsdottir, is the testimonial to the esteem in which the legendary cellist is held by all of Scandinavia. ERLING BLÖNDAL BENGTSSON performed all over Europe, the United States, South America and Russia. His repertoire was all-encompassing and he has championed the works of leading Scandinavian composers, as well as performing the Scandinavian premieres of cello concertos by Britten, Barber, Khatchaturian, Delius, Lutoslawsky and Walton and, indeed, the latter two, themselves, conducted several performances each with Mr. Bengtsson as soloist. A consistent recording artist, with over 50 albums, he had, along with the complete standard repertoire for cello and orchestra, recorded many contemporary concertos, most of which were dedicated to him. In 1985, his recordings of the six Cello Suites of J.S. Bach on the Danish label Danacord, was selected as The choice of the year by the American recording magazine Fanfare. In 1998 his recording of the Zoltán Kodály Solo Sonata, was chosen by the GUINNESS CLASSICAL 1000 as being one of the top 1000 recordings of all time. At the age 16, Erling Blöndal Bengtsson was accepted by the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he took up studies with Gregor Piatigorsky. One year later, he became Piatigorsky´s instructing assistant and the following year became a faculty member of the Curtis Institute. A world-class performer who also enjoyed pedagogy, Mr. Bengtsson became a role model for a whole family of young cellists in Europe and abroad. During the course of a career spanning seven decades, he has been on the faculties of the leading conservatories of Copenhagen, Stockholm and Cologne. In 1990 he returned to the United States as professor at the School of Music, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, until retiring 2006. Erling Blöndal Bengtsson was awarded the Knight, first class, of the order of Dannebrog, Denmark, and from Iceland, the Grand Knight of the Order of the Falcon. He was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and has been awarded the English Hyam Morrison Gold Medal for Cello. In 1993 he was honored with the title Chevalier du Violoncelle by Indiana University, School of Music, Eva Janzer Memorial Cello Center. In 2001 he received the Manchester International Cello Festivals Award of Distinction. Named Premier Master Cellist 2005 by The Detroit Cello Society,U.S.A. The IFPI (The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) Honorary Award 2006. Copenhagen, Denmark. VELUX Fondens Honorary Award 2011, Denmark. Jon Sigurdsson Award from Iceland 2013. A DVD was released Nov. 2006, The Cello and I to celebrate EBBs 70 years on the concert stage. youtu.be/OUehs8jAD6Q
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 11:41:59 +0000
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