Transcending boundaries, musical as well as hierarchical, is a hallmark of composer Fredrik Högberg. Rhythmic elements from rock and pop are combined with intimate gestures from neo-classicism and romanticism. The primal meets the avant-garde, not infrequently with a warm irresistible humor and often with traces of his fascination for technological achievements and multimedia. In close collaboration with the foremost instrumental soloists of our time, he creates concerts and solo works where the musician can give vent to his entire stage spectrum. Högberg's broad list of works includes orchestral music, choral works, chamber music, instrumental theatre and opera.
Fredrik Högberg was born in 1971 and grew up in Svedala. He studied at Framnäs Folkhögskola and then continued with composition for, among others, Jan Sandström at the Academy of Music in Piteå (1990-1997). He simultaneously worked as Sandström's assistant, and he has also taught composition in Luleå and Piteå. For many years he has lived and worked in the Court House in Nyland by the Ångermanälven – a place that he transformed into a creative cultural center.
Fredrik Högberg's playful and creative approach to creation provides unexpected elements and humorous twists, both in the work itself and in the title. He calls a concerto for tuba Rocky Island Boat Bay (2006) – written for tubaist Øystein Baadsvik, who thus got his name translated into English. The trumpeter Ole Edvard Antonsen plays him in his first trumpet concert The Poem (2005) read poetry, perform magic tricks and juggling exercises. Many of Högberg's concert pieces are written for the foremost musicians of the day, shaped according to their personalities and with room for their strong stage presence. An approach that requires an open attitude also from the orchestra. He wrote the trombone concerto for Christian Lindberg The Return of Kit Bones (2001) and he has composed for such diverse musicians as the clarinettist Martin Fröst, soprano saxophonist Anders Paulsson, the percussion ensemble Kroumata and Latin Kings together with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Stockholm.
Fredrik Högberg's works fall into many different genres: pieces for instrumental soloist (often with pre-recorded tape), chamber music, orchestral works, choral pieces and for the stage both opera and ballet Standing Waves, which was shown on Swedish TV and during World Expo 2000 in Hamburg. He likes to let himself be absorbed by new technological achievements and has, among other things, been fascinated by the possibilities of information technology. To create a fully Internet-based "iOpera", Woman of Cain, he was awarded the largest scholarship ever given to a Swedish composer, two million kroner.
Fredrik Högberg likes to work with multimedia elements such as in the solo concerts: Dancing with Silent Purpose (2010), for Martin Fröst, Ice Concerto (2012) for Niklas Sivelöv, the Accordion King (2014) for Jörgen Sundeqvist, as well as the violin/viola concerto Absent Illusions (2017) for Isabelle van Keulen, a joint commission between Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Malmö SO and Norrköping SO. The latest in the series of solo concerts is the humorous one Baboon Concerto where the bassoon soloist gets to both play and act. It was premiered by soloist prize winner Sebastian Stevensson and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in 2018, and together with co-commissioner Danmarks Radio's Symphony Orchestra in 2019.
The chamber opera also received great attention Still my fire based on the tragic story of Tetra Pak heirs Hans Kristian and Eva Rausing.
In 2021, Fredrik Högberg received the honorable commission to compose the anniversary work when the Royal Swedish Academy of Music celebrated its 250th anniversary. Jubilee Theme was written for 18 different ensembles around the country, from symphony orchestra and big band to brass quintet, string ensemble, wind quintet, jazz trio etc.
