Göran Söllscher
Encyclopedia
Göran Söllscher is a Swedish
award-winning virtuoso
classical guitar
ist known for his broad range of musical interpretations, ranging from Bach
to the Beatles
. Söllscher's international career began during his years of education at the Royal Conservatory of Copenhagen
in Copenhagen
, Denmark
when at the age of 23, he won the Concours International de Guitare in Paris
, 1978. He was signed by German
record label Deutsche Grammophon
, the largest label featuring classical guitarists. As of 2005, Söllscher has released 19 records which altogether have sold over a million
copies.
, on the south-east Swedish mainland, and grew up in Kalmar
. He started playing a musical instrument
from the age of seven.
n orchestras, and has toured North America
, Europe
, Japan
, and China
. He has played with the Camerata Bern
, the New Japan Philharmonic
, the English Chamber Orchestra
, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe
. Söllscher has often been described as the grand old man of guitarists. He is especially known for playing lute
music by Baroque
composers such as Weiss
and J.S. Bach on a custom-made 11-string Alto guitar
.
In addition to performing, Söllscher is also a professor
at the Malmö Academy of Music
in Malmö
, Sweden
from which he graduated 1978. He began teaching in 2003, and has been an adjunct professor since 1994.
, a small village on Österlen
on the east coast of Skåne, not far from Kivik
, where the annual Kivik's market takes place. He has a wife, Kerstin Söllscher, and two children, Anna and Johan. In addition to his musical achievements he is also a capable golf
player, with a handicap
of four, and reportedly a good table tennis
player as well.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
award-winning virtuoso
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
classical guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
ist known for his broad range of musical interpretations, ranging from Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
to the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. Söllscher's international career began during his years of education at the Royal Conservatory of Copenhagen
The Royal Danish Academy of Music
The Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen was founded in 1867 by the composer Niels Wilhelm Gade. It is the oldest professional institution of musical education in Denmark as well as the largest with approximately 400 students...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
when at the age of 23, he won the Concours International de Guitare in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, 1978. He was signed by German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
record label Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
, the largest label featuring classical guitarists. As of 2005, Söllscher has released 19 records which altogether have sold over a million
Million
One million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian millione , from mille, "thousand", plus the augmentative suffix -one.In scientific notation, it is written as or just 106...
copies.
Early life
Söllscher was born in VäxjöVäxjö
Växjö is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden with 64 200 inhabitants in 2010. It is the administrative, cultural and industrial centre of Kronoberg County. Furthermore it is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Växjö. It has a population of about 64 200, out of a...
, on the south-east Swedish mainland, and grew up in Kalmar
Kalmar
Kalmar is a city in Småland in the south-east of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 62,767 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of 233,776 inhabitants .From the thirteenth to the...
. He started playing a musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
from the age of seven.
Career
Söllscher has regularly played with most ScandinaviaScandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n orchestras, and has toured North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. He has played with the Camerata Bern
Camerata Bern
Located in Bern, Switzerland, the Camerata Bern was founded in 1963 by musicians as a small and flexible chamber orchestra without a conductor. The Camerata Bern performs early Baroque to contemporary classical music...
, the New Japan Philharmonic
New Japan Philharmonic
The is a symphony orchestra based in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1972 with Seiji Ozawa as honorary conductor laureate. The Philharmonic's primary concert venue is the Sumida Triphony Hall. Since 2003, its music director is Christian Arming....
, the English Chamber Orchestra
English Chamber Orchestra
The English Chamber Orchestra is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and the ECO Ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall...
, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe , established in 1981, is administratively based in London. The orchestra comprises about 60 members coming from across Europe. The players pursue parallel careers as international soloists, members of eminent chamber groups, and as tutors and professors of music...
. Söllscher has often been described as the grand old man of guitarists. He is especially known for playing lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
music by Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
composers such as Weiss
Sylvius Leopold Weiss
Silvius Leopold Weiss was a German composer and lutenist.Born in Grottkau near Breslau, the son of Johann Jacob Weiss, also a lutenist, he served at courts in Breslau, Rome, and Dresden, where he died...
and J.S. Bach on a custom-made 11-string Alto guitar
Eleven-string alto guitar
The eleven-string alto guitar or altgitarr is an extended-range classical guitar developed by Swedish luthier Georg Bolin in the 1960s.Original Bolin instruments are now rare and valuable...
.
In addition to performing, Söllscher is also a professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at the Malmö Academy of Music
Malmö Academy of Music
Malmö Academy of Music is a music conservatory located in Malmö in southern Sweden, and is a part of Lund University.-External links:**...
in Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
from which he graduated 1978. He began teaching in 2003, and has been an adjunct professor since 1994.
Personal life
Today, Söllscher lives in VitemöllaVitemölla
Vitemölla is a village situated in the southern part of Sweden, in Skåne. It's situated right next to Kivik, and every year there's a market, Kiviks Marknad, between these two villages. The market goes on for three days, and it's very crowded. Most people only live in Vitemölla during summers, but...
, a small village on Österlen
Österlen
Österlen is the southeastern part of the Swedish province of Scania. The name derives from its location 'east of the route' ; 'Öster om len' . The principal town of Österlen is Simrishamn...
on the east coast of Skåne, not far from Kivik
Kivik
Kivik is a locality situated in Simrishamn Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 1,013 inhabitants in 2005. It is located in a part of Scania called Österlen....
, where the annual Kivik's market takes place. He has a wife, Kerstin Söllscher, and two children, Anna and Johan. In addition to his musical achievements he is also a capable golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
player, with a handicap
Golf handicap
A handicap is a numerical measure of an amateur golfer's playing ability based on the tees played for a given course. It is used to calculate a net score from the number of strokes actually played, thus allowing players of different proficiency to play against each other on somewhat equal terms...
of four, and reportedly a good table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
player as well.