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Biographical data



Peter Bengtson was born May 4, 1961 in Stockholm, Sweden. His father, Rolf Bengtson (1931-1976), was a Swedish singer, actor and comedian. His mother, Hedy Bengtson (b. 1941), of German, Czech and Italian descent, was a professional dancer. Peter Bengtson currently resides in Stockholm, Sweden.

Important career points

  • Breakthrough in 1983 at the age of 22 with the ballet Schakt (“Shaft”) which since has been played world-wide.
  • The chamber opera Jungfrurna (“The Maids”) based on Genet's play Les Bonnes, was commissioned by the Stockholm Royal Opera where it received its premiere in 1994. Reprised and recorded on CD in Stockholm in 1996. German production in Stralsund, 1996. French production in Angers, 2003, and Nantes, France, in 2004. North American production in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2005. German production in Lübeck, 2005.

Studies

  • 1973-1978: Piano studies with Karin Hildebeck. Organ studies with Kerstin Ek.
  • 1977: Organist's degree.
  • 1977-78: Piano studies at the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation's musical institute at Edsberg with prof. José Ribera.
  • 1978-81: Private studies in composition with Sven-David Sandström. Studies in counterpoint and harmony with Bengt-Olof Palmqvist.
  • 1980: Studies in modern organ interpretation with organist and composer Torsten Nilsson of the Oscar Church in Stockholm.
  • 1981-86: Studies at the Advanced Composition Class at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. Teachers: prof. Gunnar Bucht, Pär Lindgren, Arne Mellnäs, prof. Sven-David Sandström, Lars-Erik Rosell, and also Brian Ferneyhough, who was a regular visitor at the College.
  • 1992-1993: Further studies in organ interpretation with concert organist Anders Bondeman of St Jacob in Stockholm.
  • 2010-: Organ studies with professor Hans-Ola Ericsson of Piteå College of Music.

As a musician

Organist who has given several first performances. Keyboard player (organ, celesta, harpsichord) on several occasions with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Stockholm and the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation's Symphony Orchestra under conductors such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Leif Segerstam, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Eri Klas, Niklas Willén and others.

  • 198x-199x: Répetiteur with Eric Ericson's Chamber Choir.
  • 198x: Several performances as organ soloist of “Nox Angustiae” by Torsten Nilsson.
  • 1984: Modern organ composition workshop with the composition class at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm. Eight first performances of specially written experimental compositions for the organ.
  • 1985: Commercial CD recording (BIS-CD-289) of “Messe Solennelle” by Jean Langlais.
  • 198x: First complete performance of Sven-David Sandström's ultra-complex organ piece Libera Me, together with prof. Hans-Ola Ericsson.
  • 1997: Organ soloist in Sven-David Sandström's The High Mass for five female voices, chorus, large orchestra and organ.

Teaching positions

  • 1986-87: Taught algorithmic composition at the Royal College in Stockholm.
  • 1989-91: Contemporary music and musical aesthetics to the choreography class at the National College of Dance in Stockholm.

Organisational positions

  • 1984-86: Treasurer for the Swedish section of Young Nordic Music (Ung Nordisk Musik).
  • 1994-2000 : Board member of the Swedish Society of Composers.
  • 1998-2000 : Member of the prize committee of the Polar Music Prize.
  • 2009- : Member of the group of experts for the construction and building of the new 150-stop organ at Acusticum, Piteå University, Sweden, together with concert organists Hans-Ola Ericsson, Piteå, Sweden; Kevin Bowyer, Scotland; and Hampus Lindwall, Paris, France.

As a programmer

  • 1978-1988: Programmer at Datatronic AB. Wrote and maintained development systems, compilers, cross-compilers and interpreters for Forth and Lisp, on which the company group's software projects were based.
  • 1986-87: Implemented hotLisp, a complete Common Lisp implementation with advanced MIDI support for a project in algorithmic composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm.
  • 1996-2002: Founder of NoteHeads Musical Expert Systems; inventor and software architect of Igor Engraver, an advanced music notation software program.