Homage to Spring With Helge Antoni

Internationally acclaimed Swedish pianist Helge Antoni presents a celebration of spring’s arrival through performances of works by C. Sinding, J. Sibelius, E. Grieg, W. Stenhammar, and T. Rangström. The concert includes pieces from Sinding’s Popular Song, Op. 32, Serenade, Op. 33, and Rustle of Spring, Op. 32; Sibelius’s Romance, Op. 24 and The Birchtree and The Fir Tree, Op. 75; Grieg’s Seven Lyric Pieces and his original Holberg Suite, Op. 40 for piano; Stenhammar’s Fantasy, Op. 11; and Rangström’s Four Miniatures.

“Antoni’s technique is ample, his tone richly coloured; his understanding of the composer’s special sound world absolute”—The American Record Guide

Helge Antoni was born in Malmö, Sweden, in 1956, studied at the Malmö Academy of Music with Stanislav Knor and made his professional debut playing Franz Berwald’s Piano Concerto. In 1979 he was the first Swedish musician to be awarded a British Council Fellowship and continued his studies with Peter Feuchtwanger in London for four years. A successful debut at the Mai Musical in Bordeaux led to a much acclaimed debut in Paris at the Salle Gaveau in 1982. The following year he also won the coveted Menuhin Prize.

Helge Antoni’s creative programming and his personal approach to audiences have made him a much sought-after pianist worldwide both in solo recitals and in concertos with orchestra, in locations including London’s Wigmore Hall and St. John’s Smith Square; in The Hague, Philip’s Saal; in Paris, Salle Gaveau; in Bonn, Beethoven Saal; in Zurich, Tonhalle; in Stockholm, Berwald Hall; in Poland, Chopin’s birthplace, Zelazowa Wola (recorded for Polish Television), Chopin Festival in Duszniki, Chopin Institute and Chopin Monument in Warsaw; in Norway, Grieg’s house, Troldhaugen (recorded for French Television). In Italy he was the first pianist to have been invited to give a “Hommage to Wilhelm Kempff” recital in the late master’s Casa Orfeo Foundation in Positano. In North America, he has performed at the Kennedy Center, Washington DC; Chicago Orchestra Hall; and San Francisco’s Masonic Hall; in South America, he has performed at Sociedad Filarmonica in Lima, Peru, and Sala Dorada in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Helge Antoni also enjoys playing chamber music, and has worked with the distinguished sopranos Elisabeth Söderström and Janet Perry, the leading trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger and the Lysell String Quartet. He has performed extensively on television and radio as a guest artist as well as presenting his own series, and his Classic Video-Clip, one of the first of its kind, has reached a wide audience.

Helge Antoni has made several highly acclaimed records for the Etcetera label, including the piano works of Christian Sinding, featuring the famous “Rustle of Spring” and the world premiere recording of his master-piece, Variations Op. 94: Fatum. He has also recorded works by Edvard Grieg, and Rossini’s piano works (including several world premiere recordings). His CD Chopin – Field highlights influences and parallels between the two composers. His album The Piano Experience, on the Swedish label dB Productions, is a recital tracking 300 years of keyboard music from Couperin to Pärt, with world premiere recordings and featuring works written for and dedicated to Helge Antoni.

Helge Antoni has been the Artistic Director of the Late Summer Nights Music Festival in Norway and the Mozart Festival as well as the “Concerti al Tramonto” Festival at the San Michele Foundation on Capri. Since 2002 he is “Artist-in-residence” at the German University Witten-Herdecke. From 2004 to 2008 he spent large periods every year in Lima, Peru, where he created a foundation to help young musicians. He is an Exclusive Steinway Artist.

From Scandinavia House.