Martin Skafte is a Swedish composer known for his works for solo piano, chamber ensembles, voice and choir. He gained international recognition in 2017 when his piano suite 24 Preludes – Inspired by Claude Debussy's Préludes for piano, was published by Gehrmans Musikförlag. He was then invited to the Boston Conservatory and Berklee School of Music in the USA, to the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo and the Malmö Academy of Music to lecture about his work.
The 24 Preludes were released on a critically acclaimed album on the British label Toccata Classics in 2022 with Jonas Olsson at the piano.
"This is not just very good music. This is great and significant music, heralding the arrival of a man who, in my opinion, has a superior musical mind and high values to match his talent [...]These pieces are nearly all gems, and are also beautifully played and recorded .' (The Art Music Lounge, Nov 2022)
Pianist Peter Jablonski is among those who drew attention to Skafte's music and took it on tour to Tokyo, among other places. In addition to having the 24 Preludes in his repertoire, he premiered Skaftes Fantasy over two works by Scriabin at Karlskrona International Piano Festival 2021. The next collaboration will be the piano concerto To the Lighthouse. Furthermore the American pianist Stephen Porter has taken Martin Skafte's music on tour to Europe and the USA.
Martin Skafte also writes chamber music and vocal works, including the song cycle Preludes for mezzo-soprano and piano, Scala Fenicia for English horn and piano, and Engång for mixed choir and soprano solo.
Marin Skafte's education includes two years at Gotland School of Music Composition followed by five years of composition studies at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg. His music is published by Gehrmans Musikförlag and Norsk Musikkforlag in Oslo, Norway.
