After years studying organ, voice and conducting and working as an organist and choral conductor a totally different path has developed: fighting for the right of every person to obtain keys to the worlds of music, starting with children.
I'm in a process of gathering key people from many areas to join in realizing this Study, from top international artists to people in the school world, scientific world and financial world, regardless of position or social status. Allow me to present some thoughts and my way of acting:
EI is the most important part in human development. Emotional Intelligence is the platform for relating to and understanding who we are, how we relate to and understand the world around us and how we build abilities to respect ourselves, other people and our Planet. EI is essential in balancing a digital and technological development that is going faster than human beings are able to handle. Music is an exceptional tool in building EI.
In 1996 I was working on starting an International Music Festival in Stockholm. The Festival was to be launched 1998 when Stockholm was the European Cultural Capital. I was looking for a Principal Artist, not just to perform concerts, but also to work with young musicians as a musical partner. I met Mstislav Rostropovitj.
When approaching the cellist Mstislav Rostropovitj with the question to be the Principal Artist of the Stockholm Festival he invited me to his London home. We discussed his way of achieving his musicians to play pianissimo. He lit up and told me how a great Russian composer had given him a description of two kinds of musicians: "There are MEZZOFORTISTS… and there are MUSICIANS."
Mr. Rostropovitj agreed to be our Principal Artist. Sadly it did not work out.
In my first encounter 1997 with the violinist Gidon Kremer, he told me about his newly formed orchestra “Kremerata Baltica”. He had selected young, talented musicians from the three Baltic countries. His rehearsal work with the orchestra was exceptional from the very start. He shared the first stand in the first violin section sitting next to a young musician who was given the responsibility to be concertmaster (see a glimpse of his playing with his orchestra in the presentation film). He led rehearsals by being part of the orchestra infusing his musicians with his expressive playing. With his work he embodied my vision of a great artist working closely with young musicians.
His approach was discovering expressions in the core of the music in ways that touches hearts. He is still leading his orchestra playing with and supporting young talents in their development as musicians.
We worked together in two festival projects:
1998 in Järna International Music Festival outside of Stockholm.
2000 in Nalen, Stockholm – Festival & Forum 21 – a combined Music Festival and an International Scientific Conference with the theme: Music - School - Society. In the presentation film Professor Töres Theorell is presenting an important study in Switzerland 1989-1982, a study that was presented at the festival in Stockholm by Professor Maria Spychiger, Switzerland.
Making music can easily become a sound production project. Music is not about producing sound, it’s about expressing emotion! See the little girl in the end of the presentation film who says that she “sings her feelings”. Look at her face seconds before her statement, she is totally focused, all her emotions can be seen in her face.