Love Derwinger

Born in Sweden during 1966, pianist Love Derwinger (first name pronounced LOO-vuh, last name dare-VING-er) gained his widest international profile through his work as accompanist to African-American-Swedish soprano Barbara Hendricks. He has also earned recognition as a concerto soloist, a specialist in contemporary repertoire, and an author. At age sixteen he made his first appearance as soloist, performing Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major. From that point he built a recital career that carried him across Europe, the Americas, Japan, and, less commonly, the Middle East. His concerto engagements have involved not only Nordic ensembles but also the Radio Philharmonie Hannover des NDR in Germany (now the Elbphilharmonie), the Philharmonia Orchestra in Britain, and the Residentie Orkest in The Hague, Netherlands; festival appearances have included Stockholm New Music. His activities shift among concerto performances, solo recitals, chamber music, occasional conducting (he directed a performance of Morton Feldman's 1977 opera Neither and has championed other contemporary pieces), and song accompaniment. The last of these roles is most closely associated with Hendricks, both onstage and across a series of well-received recordings issued on her Arte Verum label. More than thirty releases appear under his name, the majority on Sweden's BIS imprint, among them a 1993 account of Wilhelm Stenhammar's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 1. The opening months of 2019 brought two further discs: one featuring violinist Sueye Park in the recital Salut d'Amour, the other presenting a previously captured collection of Mahler lieder with Hendricks. Derwinger has published two volumes unrelated to pianism. Godnatt took the form of a memoir and series of reflections cast as dialogues, while Föredraget is characterized as "an anachronistic interview with Bach."