Musical Postcard: Anne Sofie von Otter

Program and texts/translations available here.

Adolf Fredrik LINDBLAD (1801–1878)
“Jungfrun i lunden”
“Aftonen”
“Vaggvisa”

Erik Gustaf GEIJER (1783–1847)
“Gräl och allt väl”

Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano
Bengt Forsberg, piano

To ring in the new year — one of hope, promise, and a lot more music — it is our pleasure to share this Musical Postcard from mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter.

Grammy Award-winning artist and one of today’s most recorded singers, Anne Sofie’s career has spanned three decades in opera, concert, and recital. Celebrated for her versatility, she has performed lead roles in works by Handel, Faure, Weill, Berg and Bernstein, and we think of her as a trailblazer, championing “new music” authentically and with a vision for its place among older and more traditional repertoire. She has collaborated with the string quartet Brooklyn Rider, and composers including John Adams, Kate Bush, Elvis Costello, and Caroline Shaw.

Our friendship with Anne Sofie began in 2015 with our very first commission by Shaw. The two had worked together and approached PBO about composing songs for period instruments. This marked the beginning of an incredible three-year partnership with Philharmonia, resulting in a three-piece song cycle Is a Rose. The three songs — “Red, Red Rose,” “The Edge,” and “And So” — premiered at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Bing Concert Hall, and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center between 2016 and 2019, and also enjoyed performances in Montreal and Quebec City.

Anne Sofie last performed with PBO alongside countertenor Daniel Moody in March 2019. We were thrilled to present to both Anne Sofie and Caroline Shaw at the 2019 Gala the Philharmonia award for extraordinary contributions to early and new music.

In this musical postcard, Anne Sofie performs a series of beautiful Swedish folk songs to carry us into 2021.