Per-Olov Kindgren
Encyclopedia
Per-Olov Kindgren is a Swedish
classical guitar
ist, composer
and music teacher known for his classical guitar
playing ranging from Bach
to The Beatles
.
, Colombia
to a Swedish
father and a Danish
mother. Per-Olov's father Owe, an engineer, worked for the Colombian branch of LM Ericsson
installing telephone stations. The family returned to Stockholm
when Per-Olov was three years old. He lived there from 1960 till 1970. At the age of six Per-Olov was fascinated by a bright red electric guitar in a shop window. The Beatles became his heroes, and he especially admired Paul McCartney
. His parents acquired a classical guitar
for his seventh birthday present. In 1970 he saw a documentary about John Williams
broadcast on Danish national television, and from that day on, he knew what he wanted to become. When Per-Olov was 14 years old, his family moved to the border town Helsingør in Denmark
. In doing so he could more easily attend a Swedish high school in Helsingborg
, where he met his first classical guitar teacher Torvald Nilsson.
in Copenhagen
, where he moved during his studies and where he lives and works today. He studied there for 7 years with professor Per-Olof Johnson until his graduation in 1983. Even while continuing his studies, he became a music teacher, teaching at both music schools in Vallensbæk
and Gentofte
for 24 years. Presently Kindgren only works as a music teacher at the music school in Gentofte. His work as a music teacher provides him with a steady living along with the concerts he performs. In 1979 he joined with three other guitarists, Steffen Broe Christensen, Dag Egil Berge and Torsten Borbye Nielsen, forming the Nordic Guitar Quartet. which performed more than 400 concerts throughout the years. Per-Olov composes pieces for solo
guitar, as well as for duets
, trios
, quartet
s up till septet
s and octets
for guitar. In 1998 he composed pieces for choir
, orchestra
and a rock band for the 25th anniversary of the Vallensbæk music school and in 2000 he composed a Christmas Oratorio
for organ
, guitar
, flute
s, choir and narrator
. In 2009, the great French guitarist
and composer Jean Marie RAYMOND wrote for him a beautiful music piece, a little jewel called "As always".
, blues
and easy listening
. In addition to his classical repertoire Per-Olov also plays works of The Beatles. Kindgren likes to describe his own compositions as songs without words.
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....
classical guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
ist, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and music teacher known for his classical guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
playing ranging from Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
to The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
.
Early life
Kindgren was born in BogotáBogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
to a Swedish
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....
father and a Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
mother. Per-Olov's father Owe, an engineer, worked for the Colombian branch of LM Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
installing telephone stations. The family returned to Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
when Per-Olov was three years old. He lived there from 1960 till 1970. At the age of six Per-Olov was fascinated by a bright red electric guitar in a shop window. The Beatles became his heroes, and he especially admired Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
. His parents acquired a classical guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
for his seventh birthday present. In 1970 he saw a documentary about John Williams
John Williams (guitarist)
John Christopher Williams is an Australian classical guitarist, and a long-term resident of the United Kingdom. In 1973, he shared a Grammy Award win in the 'Best Chamber Music Performance' category with Julian Bream for Julian and John .-Biography:John Williams was born on 24 April 1941 in...
broadcast on Danish national television, and from that day on, he knew what he wanted to become. When Per-Olov was 14 years old, his family moved to the border town Helsingør in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. In doing so he could more easily attend a Swedish high school in Helsingborg
Helsingborg
Helsingborg is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 97,122 inhabitants in 2010. Helsingborg is the centre of an area in the Øresund region of about 320,000 inhabitants in north-west Scania, and is Sweden's closest point to Denmark, with the Danish city...
, where he met his first classical guitar teacher Torvald Nilsson.
Professional life
In 1976 he began to study at The Royal Danish Academy of MusicThe Royal Danish Academy of Music
The Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen was founded in 1867 by the composer Niels Wilhelm Gade. It is the oldest professional institution of musical education in Denmark as well as the largest with approximately 400 students...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, where he moved during his studies and where he lives and works today. He studied there for 7 years with professor Per-Olof Johnson until his graduation in 1983. Even while continuing his studies, he became a music teacher, teaching at both music schools in Vallensbæk
Vallensbæk
Vallensbæk Kommune is a municipality in Region Hovedstaden on the east coast of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark.-Overview:The municipality covers an area of 9.15 km², and has a total population of 12,399...
and Gentofte
Gentofte
Gentofte Kommune is a municipality in the Capital Region of Denmark on the east coast of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and has a total population of 68,913...
for 24 years. Presently Kindgren only works as a music teacher at the music school in Gentofte. His work as a music teacher provides him with a steady living along with the concerts he performs. In 1979 he joined with three other guitarists, Steffen Broe Christensen, Dag Egil Berge and Torsten Borbye Nielsen, forming the Nordic Guitar Quartet. which performed more than 400 concerts throughout the years. Per-Olov composes pieces for solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
guitar, as well as for duets
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
, trios
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
, quartet
Quartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
s up till septet
Septet
A septet is a formation containing exactly seven members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, but can be applied to any situation where seven similar or related objects are considered a single unit, such as a seven-line stanza of poetry....
s and octets
Octet (music)
In music, an octet is a musical ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices, or a musical composition written for such an ensemble.-Octets in classical music:Octets in classical music are one of the largest groupings of chamber music...
for guitar. In 1998 he composed pieces for choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
and a rock band for the 25th anniversary of the Vallensbæk music school and in 2000 he composed a Christmas Oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
for organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s, choir and narrator
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
. In 2009, the great French guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and composer Jean Marie RAYMOND wrote for him a beautiful music piece, a little jewel called "As always".
Musical style
Kindgren's style is mainly classical, with influences from jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
. In addition to his classical repertoire Per-Olov also plays works of The Beatles. Kindgren likes to describe his own compositions as songs without words.
Instrument
- Classical guitarClassical guitarThe classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
by luthierLuthierA luthier is someone who makes or repairs lutes and other string instruments. In the United States, the term is used interchangeably with a term for the specialty of each maker, such as violinmaker, guitar maker, lute maker, etc...
Per Hallgren, 2011 - Per-Olov previously played a classical guitarClassical guitarThe classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
built by SwissSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
luthierLuthierA luthier is someone who makes or repairs lutes and other string instruments. In the United States, the term is used interchangeably with a term for the specialty of each maker, such as violinmaker, guitar maker, lute maker, etc...
Philippe Jean-Mairet, which he bought in 1987. A friend of his, Jørgen, had bought a guitar from the Swiss luthier whom he had met in Bern during his studies and loved its superb quality. Per-Olov asked his friend to order a guitar for him and nine months later he was able to visit Philippe Jean-Mairet in Switzerland to test his new guitar. Previously he owned a Martin Fleeson guitar which he had bought in ManchesterManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1986 for 25,000 DKKDanish kroneThe krone is the official currency of the Kingdom of Denmark consisting of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. It is subdivided into 100 øre...
(about €EuroThe euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
3,350 or $United States dollarThe United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
4,400 at the time). One year later Per-Olov bought his Jean-Mairet instrument. - He also plays a 7 string classical guitar given to him by John and Judy Rogerson.
Guitar Support
Per-Olov can be seen in his videos, using a Gitano guitar support on his left lap.Discography
- 1992 - Images, Nordic Guitar Quartet (Primaveramusic)
- 2008 - After Silence (Villa Luisa Records)
- 2010 - Distant Love
- 2011 - AIR