Album Notes

Per Tengstrand is rapidly establishing himself as one of today's most exciting pianists. He has been described by the Washington Post as "technically resplendent, powerful, intuitively secure," and by the New York Times as "a superb Swedish pianist" whose recital "was rewarding, both for its unusual programming and for his eloquent, technically polished performances". Tengstrand is the subject of a highly acclaimed Swedish documentary entitled Solisten (The Soloist), which was featured at the International Festival of Cinema and Technology in New York City. In 2005, he was decorated by King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden with the Royal Medal Litteris et Artibus for outstanding service to the arts, the youngest recipient ever to be so honored.

An advocate of Scandinavian repertoire, Tengstrand inaugurated the Nordic Music Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia with a performance of Stenhammar's Piano Concerto No. 1. He has played the concerto in Vienna's famous Musikverein with the Vienna Tonkunstler Orchestra, under music director Kristjan Jarvi; with the New Jersey Symphony, for the NJSO's Scandinavian Festival under Neeme Jarvi; with the Malmo Symphony; at the Tubin Festival in Tallinn with the Estonian National Symphony; and at the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm. He also played Stenhammar's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Nordic Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen, followed by performances on tour in Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong under the baton of Susanna Malkki. At the invitation of Esa-Pekka Salonen, Tengstrand performed Salonen's Dichotomie in the Stockholm Concert Hall, and twice at the Victor Borge Hall in New York.

Per Tengstrand regularly performs with leading Scandinavian orchestras. He has appeared as soloist with the Orchestre National de France, French Radio Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra National de Lille, National Symphony of Taiwan, Singapore Symphony, New Japan, and Osaka Philharmonic Orchestras. He has given recitals in Europe in such prestigious venues as Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Zurich's Tonhalle, Paris' Salle Gaveau and the Nice Opera House, as well as in Geneva, Bordeaux, Bergen, Norway, the Montpellier Festival, Poland's Chopin Festival and Tokyo's Suntory Hall.