Biography
Guitarist Mattias Schulstad had already begun performing publicly in his late teens, with engagements taking him from his native Sweden to both Spain and the United States. Among the musicians who have shaped his approach are pianists Artur Rubinstein and Alicia de Larrocha, singers Jussi Björling and Victoria de los Angeles, and an array of guitarists.
Born in the Stockholm area on November 8, 1984, Schulstad grew up admiring the artistry of guitarist Göran Söllscher and began lessons at the Nacka Municipal School of Music in 1994. He remained there until 2003 under the guidance of Erik Möllerström, who passed on to him a 1971 Ignacio Fleta e hijos guitar—an instrument Schulstad regards as the Stradivarius of the guitar and maintains in a room equipped with two humidifiers. At fifteen he entered Södra Latins Gymnasium, where Bo Hansson became his teacher. Two years afterward he gave his first recital at the Stockholm International Guitar Festival, an event that prompted him to seek out Söllscher directly. In 2003 he therefore enrolled at the Malmö Academy of Music, part of the University of Lund, and later continued his training at the Juilliard School in New York, returning frequently to the United States thereafter. His debut album, Invocación, appeared in 2012.
Concert appearances in Sweden have included a performance at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. He has been featured on Televisión Española, on the Performance Today broadcast of U.S. National Public Radio, and on New York’s WQXR and Chicago’s WFMT. Festival engagements encompass Music at Lake Siljan and the Uppsala International Guitar Festival in Sweden as well as presentations at the Strathmore complex near Washington, D.C. An extensive online audience has followed his streaming video performances. Committed to contemporary repertoire, Schulstad has given the premieres of concertos by Jakub Ciupiński and Ryan Francis and introduced Enrico Chapela Barbas’ Melate Binario to North American and Nordic listeners. Before issuing his second album, The Guitar Player, in 2023, he released several singles devoted to cornerstone works of the guitar literature.
Born in the Stockholm area on November 8, 1984, Schulstad grew up admiring the artistry of guitarist Göran Söllscher and began lessons at the Nacka Municipal School of Music in 1994. He remained there until 2003 under the guidance of Erik Möllerström, who passed on to him a 1971 Ignacio Fleta e hijos guitar—an instrument Schulstad regards as the Stradivarius of the guitar and maintains in a room equipped with two humidifiers. At fifteen he entered Södra Latins Gymnasium, where Bo Hansson became his teacher. Two years afterward he gave his first recital at the Stockholm International Guitar Festival, an event that prompted him to seek out Söllscher directly. In 2003 he therefore enrolled at the Malmö Academy of Music, part of the University of Lund, and later continued his training at the Juilliard School in New York, returning frequently to the United States thereafter. His debut album, Invocación, appeared in 2012.
Concert appearances in Sweden have included a performance at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. He has been featured on Televisión Española, on the Performance Today broadcast of U.S. National Public Radio, and on New York’s WQXR and Chicago’s WFMT. Festival engagements encompass Music at Lake Siljan and the Uppsala International Guitar Festival in Sweden as well as presentations at the Strathmore complex near Washington, D.C. An extensive online audience has followed his streaming video performances. Committed to contemporary repertoire, Schulstad has given the premieres of concertos by Jakub Ciupiński and Ryan Francis and introduced Enrico Chapela Barbas’ Melate Binario to North American and Nordic listeners. Before issuing his second album, The Guitar Player, in 2023, he released several singles devoted to cornerstone works of the guitar literature.
Albums
Singles
