Bo Nilsson
Encyclopedia
Bo Nilsson is a Swedish
composer
and lyricist
.
Bo Nilsson first drew notice as a composer at the age of 18 when his "Zwei Stücke" were performed in a 1956 West German Radio “Musik der Zeit” concert in Cologne
. He had taught himself composition by listening to the radio, having previously had only basic training from a local music teacher and some experience as a jazz pianist. Though his early style owes much to Pierre Boulez
and Karlheinz Stockhausen
, it also displays a number of personal features: the use of bright percussion sounds behind finely wrought vocal or flute (usually alto flute) lines, a “nervous” fluttering of tonal nuances, and a feeling for miniature, calculated forms (Åstrand 2001). Because he has chosen to live in the small town of Malmberget
, he received the journalistic epitethet "the genius from Malmberget".
Beginning with Entrée for orchestra and tape (1962), Nilsson turned to a style akin to late Romanticism, and later in the 1960s he wrote film and television scores, for example Hemsöborna (1966) and Röda Rummet.
Amongst his most important works are Quantitäten for solo piano (1957), Ett blocks timme for soprano and chamber ensemble after a text by Öyvind Fahlström, Brief an Gösta Oswald (1958–62), Drei Szenen for orchestra, and Fatumeh for reciter, choir, rock-group, and symphony orchestra (1971).
Bo Nilsson received an honorary doctorate from the Luleå tekniska universitet. On this occasion, the University commissioned a portrait of Bo Nilsson, painted by artist Echi Åberg.
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....
composer
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
and lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
.
Bo Nilsson first drew notice as a composer at the age of 18 when his "Zwei Stücke" were performed in a 1956 West German Radio “Musik der Zeit” concert in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. He had taught himself composition by listening to the radio, having previously had only basic training from a local music teacher and some experience as a jazz pianist. Though his early style owes much to Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
and Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
, it also displays a number of personal features: the use of bright percussion sounds behind finely wrought vocal or flute (usually alto flute) lines, a “nervous” fluttering of tonal nuances, and a feeling for miniature, calculated forms (Åstrand 2001). Because he has chosen to live in the small town of Malmberget
Malmberget
Malmberget is a locality and mining town situated in Gällivare Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 6,017 inhabitants in 2005. It is situated 5 kilometres from the municipal seat Gällivare....
, he received the journalistic epitethet "the genius from Malmberget".
Beginning with Entrée for orchestra and tape (1962), Nilsson turned to a style akin to late Romanticism, and later in the 1960s he wrote film and television scores, for example Hemsöborna (1966) and Röda Rummet.
Amongst his most important works are Quantitäten for solo piano (1957), Ett blocks timme for soprano and chamber ensemble after a text by Öyvind Fahlström, Brief an Gösta Oswald (1958–62), Drei Szenen for orchestra, and Fatumeh for reciter, choir, rock-group, and symphony orchestra (1971).
Bo Nilsson received an honorary doctorate from the Luleå tekniska universitet. On this occasion, the University commissioned a portrait of Bo Nilsson, painted by artist Echi Åberg.
Writings
- "Aktuella kompositionsproblem". Nutida musik 1, no. 2 (1957–58), 6–7
- Spaderboken. Stockholm: Bonnier, 1966.
- Missilen eller Livet i en mössa. Gällivare: Gellivare sockens hembygdsfören, 1994. ISBN 9197183539