Rolf Martinsson (b. 1956) is one of Sweden's internationally leading composers. With his musical roots in late romanticism, combined with impressionistic coloring and a highly driven craftsmanship, he has created a strongly personal, expressive tonal language with great appeal to both musicians and audiences. It was with his solo concerts that Rolf Martinsson reached the big international stages. In recent years, the vocal works have come to play one
an increasingly large role in his creation.
The international breakthrough came with the trumpet concerto Bridge (1998) written for Håkan Hardenberger, which has been performed over 60 times around the world, since the premiere in Gothenburg. It was followed by a series of solo concertos dedicated to various soloists, written with their particular skills and personalities in mind, among these: Fairlight – Trombone Concerto for Christian Lindberg, Cello Concerto for Mats Lidström, Concert Fantastique for clarinetist Martin Fröst, Golden Harmony for soprano saxophonist Anders Paulsson and lastly Soundscape (2022) for hornist Felix Klieser. The concertos have subsequently been performed by other prominent soloists.
But Martinsson has not only composed solo concertos. Among his most performed orchestral works is the concert opener Open Mind (2005) and the Schönberg tribute A. S. in Memoriam (1999) for string orchestra. In 2008, Rolf Martinsson was in focus during the Stockholm Concert Hall Composer Festival with over 20 performances by, among others, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra/Sakari Oramo to whom he dedicated his Concerto for Orchestra.
In recent years, the vocal works composed for, and in collaboration with, the soprano Lisa Larsson came to play a significant role. Among these, the large international joint commissions stand out i.e. Garden of Devotion (to lyrics by Tagore) and Ich denke Dein…(to texts by Rilke, Gothe and Eichendorff), as well as Martinsson's orchestrations of Franz Berwald's songs in Traumreise and Clara Schumann's songs in Homage an Clara. The collaboration with Lisa Larsson has resulted in four portrait albums released on BIS, Challenge Records and Daphne. His vocal works also include the St Luke Passion which has become a recurring work in the repertoire during Easter.
Upcoming commissions include a Requiem and a Symphony for the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic.
Rolf Martinsson's collaborations with orchestras worldwide have led to performances in concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, New York, Musikverein, Vienna, Berliner Philharmonie, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Tonhalle Zürich, Royal Festival Hall, London, Suntory Hall, Tokyo, Hamer Hall, Melbourne, etc.
Although Martinsson is primarily known as an orchestral composer, he has also composed around 60 chamber music works and solo pieces.
Rolf Martinsson has been in the spotlight at several festivals and held the position of Composer-in-Residence with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra and others. He has been awarded several times (The Great Christ Johnson prize, The Rosenberg prize, The Royal Medal Litteris et artibus, etc.), he is a professor of composition at the Malmö Academy of Music and a member of the Royal Academy of Music.
