NEW REVIEW OF MARTINSSON'S FLUTE CONCERTO

A Fine review was published in The Uppsala Newpaper when Magnus performed with Shimmering Blue - Rolf Martinsson's flute concerto, together with Paul Mägi and the "Uppsala Chamber Orchestra" in Uppsala Concert Hall in March.

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PERFORMING IN BRUXELLES 24-26 November 2009

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GREAT SUCCESS WITH JAN SANDSTRÖM'S FLUTE CONCERTO

"The Flute was stimulating to the imagination in Kristinehallen"
The orchestra accompanies oftenly with long lines of flexible harmonies without disturbing details. The soloists voice is close to talking to the listener. Here, you will find no predictable themes, it is changed in the moment with sudden outbursts or moderation. The flute concerto demands a great precision and energy of both the soloist and the orchestra. It is lucky then, that Sandström composed this Concerto with Magnus Båge in his thoughts.

He is completely phenomenal with his instrument.
Accept for the tonequality and the flawlessness, Båge creates the whole palette of feelings to shape the music.
Engeset is as usual stable and reliable as a conductor and corresponded an energetic and colourfull link between the orchestra and the soloist."

Jenny Tiderman - Dalarnas Tidningar March 2009

"Inspiring music"
Jan Sandströms newly written Concerto for flute is really an exciting experience, and with the more and more acknowledged Magnus Båge as a soloist, this event became an inspiring moment.

This new composition, which is commisioned by Dalasinfoniettan, Swedish Chamber Orchestra and
NorrlandsOperan Symphony Orchestra, starts with a lonely flute; in a spirit of Carl Nielsen - but from beginning to end it is the soloist who leads the music; the flute is this music's astronaut, on great adventures in magical exotic spaces; with transparent, veiled music.

The flute is the Leader who entices the orchestra out to foreign land. Some distant passages gets close to a weightless state. It is - paradoxically enough, both transparent and intensive music. I get the feeling of twenty lightyears on twenty minutes.

Björn Gustavson - Dalademokraten March 2009

CONCERTS SPRING 2009

March 19 18.30, the Kristine Hall, Falun, Sweden. "Adventure for a flute", premiere of the new flute concerto by the Swedish composer Jan Sandström. The Dalasinfonietta and the conductor Bjarte Engeset.

April 29 19.00, Örebro Concert Hall. "Adventure for a flute", the new flute concerto by the Swedish composer Jan Sandström. The Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Nikolai Znaider.

MUSIC BY MAGNUS BAGE

Listen to Magnus' music at MySpace:

CONCERTS SUMMER 2008

June 27 19.00, Swedish Institute/San Michele, Capri, Italy. Recital with the pianist Karin Haglund.

July 21, Pietrasanta, Italy. Soloist with Brussels chamber orchestra - first movement of the Concerto in D major by Mozart and a movement by Vivaldi (the Concerto for two violins in A minor together with the violinist Michael Guttman.

July 27, 19.00, Winterviken, Stockholm, Sweden. Magnus Båge Quartet + Nada.

July 31, 19.00, Bistro Voltaire, Stockholm, Sweden. Magnus Båge Quartet + Nada.

August 2, 14.00, Ystad art museum, Sweden. Magnus Båge Quartet + Nada.

PLAYING THE MARTINSSON CONCERTO IN NOVEMBER

November 13, 18.00, Magnus will play the flute concerto Shimmering Blue by Rolf Martinsson together with Gävle Symphony Orchestra in the Concert Hall in Stockholm. The concert will be performed again the day after - Friday, November 14, in the Gävle Concert Hall at 19.30.

Magnus and Rolf Martinsson

"Finally comes a conciderable 26-minutes-in-one-movement flute concerto called Shimmering Blue, emphasizing both a flute glissando technique and a matching orchestral sound. It is a lovely piece of many moods, played with conciderable tonal variety by Bage. The whole program is recorded in beautifully resonant sound and I found it a satisfying experience with a sensitive composer."

D. Moore, American Record Guide (June 2008)

"Most delicate, though, is ”Shimmering Blue”, the flute concerto from 2005 with the brilliant soloist Magnus Båge and Malmö Symphony Orchestra, with its slowly sliding Sibelius mysticism:
It is like watching the danser Virpi Pahkinen do eights on a frozen lake completely forgotten by the world." "Best track - Shimmering Blue"

Martin Nyström, Dagens Nyheter, Sweden (Nov 2007)

"Rolf Martinsson's Flute Concerto is called Shimmering Blue, and blue is indeed one of the fundamental tones in the composer's range of colours, as in jazz and similiar impressionism. For Martinsson's tone language is impressive, attractive and revels in tonal beauty - not unlike the Frenchman Henri Dutilleux. In Martinsson's tone-poem Open Mind (2005) as well as in his Flute Concerto he paints in a shamelessly cinemagraphic manner, with bellowing string waves topped by cymbal clashes à la Korngold. But it is the introverted slides that rise from the depths which redeem Martinsson's work from its kitsch stamp - as well as the superb playing of Mats Lindström and flutist Magnus Båge."

Sofia Nyblom, Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden, (Nov 2007)

Listen to an excerpt:

More sound clips will be found here.

The cd is sold through Swedish Music Shop.

THE NORTHERN LIGHT PROJECT
Music by Rolf Martinsson

The main idea is to give a presentation of Nordic music, Nordic light and Nordic "tone" and voice of our time. The main piece of the program is Shimmering Blue, the Swedish composer Rolf Martinsson's Flute Concerto No. 1 performed by Magnus Båge, whose invention "Expression Slide", a sensational equipment, makes it possible to play a glissando a minor third up or down. A five minute section in Shimmering Blue is dedicated to that technique.

An "artist of light" is involved in the project - to give the concert an extra colourful dimension with high quality projecting slowly increasing/decreasing pictures of northern light at the stage back or walls during the performance of Shimmering Blue and Dreams, an other work by Martinsson.

www.rolfmartinsson.com

FLUTE MUSIC

"This is not another flute record but a milestone in flute playing. Great tone colors, perfect intonation and wonderful musical playing.

Everyone should have this recording and I am particularly proud to own it."

Sir James Galway (September 2003)