Ida Falk Winland, Soprano

Ida Falk Winland was trained at the Royal College of Music in London and at the London National Opera Studio. She performed at the Nobel celebrations in 2007 and has been artist in Residence of the Swedish Radio music channel P2. By way of contrast she also works regularly with British pop artist Mika and has given concerts with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Ebbot Lundberg, lead singer of Soundtrack of our lives.

Matti Hirvonen performs as a solo pianist, chamber musician and lieder pianist. He is a frequent guest at music centers and festivals the world over, and he has made countless recordings. His career as a lieder pianist began with Elisabeth Söderström and has continued in the company of many a Swedish soloist. He is professor of Piano accompaniment  at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and professor of Vocal Repertoire at the Royal College of Music in London.

Ida Falk Winland has selected the pieces on the debut CD herself. Living and working in Great Britain, she considers it important to appeal to an English speaking audience. The most important however is the thematic thread that links the songs. “Every song on the CD is about nature, life and death – the circle of life. The most personal poems in Aaron Copland’s song cycle connect Emily Dickinson with Strauss’ Ophelia. Both Emily and Ophelia live in their own world, a world in which sanity and insanity merge in one. In some sense, this profile also fits Ebba Lindqvist, whose entire poetic output reveals an obsession with the sea” says Ida.

The Soloist Prize is a competition for young musicians and singers on the threshold of their careers. The prize awarded by the judges to Ida Falk Winland in 2008 for “her musical breadth, impressive technical perfection and deep commitment to her art” comprised not only a CD recording and a tour, but also a purse of 100.000 sek.