New Classics

Swedish composer Jonathan Östlund has recently been living in Romania and before that London before returning to his home country in 2021. He manifested an avid interest for music from an early age and pursued his passion with a BA and MA in Composition at the Luleå Tekniska Universitet, in Sweden. He has studied under the artistic guidance of Prof. Rolf Martinsson, Prof. Jan Sandström and Prof. Sverker Jullander, among others, and has so far completed over 100 works, including several orchestral pieces, a Violin Concerto and a Piano Concerto, and has been awarded many prizes in international competitions.

Acclaimed for his imaginative and accessible music, he has been championed by some of Europe’s best musicians. Following his previous well-received albums, Voyages and Lunaris, Imago follows the distinctive format of previous programs in that its 35 tracks features orchestral, vocal, choral, instrumental and chamber music.

Jonathan Östlund’s primary inspiration is nature which is brought out fully in beautiful Impressionist works such as L’eau de l’oubli and La nuit étoilée. He is also fascinated by the art of composing fantasies and paraphrases on classics and several are included here. A large team of top class soloists (several of whom also gave the world premieres of these works) were gathered in various locations, often having to work through lockdowns, to record this new album of music that is attractive, full of wit and humour, and always atmospheric.

Highlights include two entrancing Imago Themes with bird song, an arrangement of Reger’s ‘Mariä Wiegenlied’ (with Hungarian-born mezzo-soprano Lina Ferencz), the magical La Neige de Noël, a sprightly Will-o’-the-wisp, and the evocative Fantasia on Mussorgsky’s ‘The Old Castle’.

—John Pitt