Katarina Widell

ABOUT

Recorder player Katarina Widell is known for her great stage presence and challenging way of playing. Press reviews describe her as "a recorder tamer" and "master of the recorder". Her repertoire spans over one thousand years of western music and she is constantly seeking new repertoire and new ways of interpretation.

She has performed as a soloist together with The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble and Västerås Sinfonietta and has collaborated with conductors such as Antonello Manacorda, Robin Ticciati, Anthony Halstead and Johannes Gustavsson. Widell has performed several times on National Television SVT, Swedish Radio SR and festivals such as Stockholm Early Music Festival, Music at lake Siljan, Musik på Sörmländska Slott & Herresäten and Amherst Early Music Festival i Vermont.

Katarina is also one of the founder of the new recorder quartet “Woodpeckers”, with recorder players Per Gross, Kate Hearne and Caroline Eidsten Dahl. Her most recent ensemble is [EN.D.E] with guitar and lute player Patrik Karlsson.

Besides freelancing, Widell's work includes a large variety of projects, for exemple recording music for a computer game and recording for the new album of progressive rock band Vindictiv along with violinist Ann Wallström, percussionist Leif Karlsson and [EN.D.E] colleague Patrik Karlsson.

Katarina graduated with highest honours from the soloist diploma programme at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm for Dan Laurin and Clas Pehrsson and in November 2007 she released her debut album "NADIR". During 2008 she was a finalist in the prestigious Swedish competition Soloist Prize arranged by Concerts Sweden.

Since August 2008 she is teaching recorder and stage performance at the College of Music in Piteå, Sweden.

Biography

Recorder player Katarina Widell is known for her great stage presence and challenging way of playing.

"Katarina is one of Sweden’s most promising young wind players."

Lars Collin, SvD

"Widell's amazing stage presence and sparkling technique have captured the hearts and fascination of her audience in a short time."

Peter Pontvik
Artistic Director, Stockholm Early Music Festival

EN.D.E, Katarina Widell, recorders and Patrik Karlsson, archlute, is an innovative and multifaceted ensemble and press reviews describes them as very interesting and professional acquaintances with skill, boldness and new ways of using their baroque instruments. Although recently created, at the end of 2008, they have had time to discover and premier music from the 18th century, record with the metal band Vindictiv (featuring former Yngwie Malmsteen singers Göran Edman and Marc Boals on vocals), commission and premiering works for archlute, recorder, electric and classical guitar and electronics from composers from Italy, USA and Sweden.

EN.D.E has performed at such diverse festivals as Stockholm Early Music Festival, Geiger

Festival, Göteborg Art Sounds Festival of Contemporary and Electronic Music in Gothenburg Electronic Music Festival in Norberg and Örebro Contemporary Chamber Music Festival. They have also performed within the worldwide concert series Café de Concert as well as regular concerts within Scandinavia. Two of EN.D.E's greater projects have during 2009 received funding from RANK (The society for organizers of contemporary music), The Swedish council of Cultural Affairs and many other private, government and municipal grants.

During 2010 EN.D.E have amongst other things performed in the USA, collaborated with italian

composer Maurizio Pisati and launched the project YouHero which contains reprogrammed Guitar

Hero guitars and a specially designed program for PC that transforms the Guitar Hero guitar into a

musical instrument. EN.D.E has also commissioned music by swedish female composers and

searched for music by 18th century italian female composers at the Biblioteca del Conservatorio

”Benedetto Marcello” in Venice as a part of their most recent project: “Italian Elegance and

Swedish determination”

PROJECTS & ENSEMBLES

From Sundsvalls Tidning

"Katarina Widell and Patrik Karlsson was very interesting and professional acquaintances and they skillfully and daring showed new ways of use for their baroque instruments"

Ensemble EN.D.E

Trio Bon, Ann Wallström - baroque violin, Katarina Widell - recorders and Patrik Karlsson - archlute.

The Stockholm based trio embraces the early and late baroque repertoire with swedish composers such as Johan Helmich Roman "The father of Swedish music” and Johan Joachim Agrell alongside with Italian composers Anna Bon di Venezia and Dario Castello.

Characterized by strong presence, striking personalities and dueling way of playing Trio Bon delivers an energetic and memorable concert experience.

“Time for some dueling again, now between the violin and the recorder: Who plays faster and who delivers the most difficult sequences? The outcome was uncertain, but the well-being was high with both the musicians and the audience.”

Gunnar Tibell - UNT

“impressive ensemble playing and lovely duets”

Fride Jansson - SN

Trio Bon

EN.D.E has commissioned music by swedish female composers and searched for music by 18th century italian female composers at the Biblioteca del Conservatorio ”Benedetto Marcello” in Venice as a part of their most recent project: “Italian Elegance and Swedish determination”

Italian composers from Ospedale della Pietà

Anna Bon di Venezia (1740-c.1770)

Agatha della Pietà

Swedish composers

Tebogo Monnakgotla (b. 1972)

Ida Lundén (b. 1971)

Anna Eriksson (b. 1963)

Malin Bång (b. 1974)

Italian elegance and Swedish Determination

With reprogrammed Guitar Hero-controls, Patrik Karlsson, Katarina Widell, Tony Blomdahl and Palle Dahlstedt perform the first music ever written for YouHero-guitar.

A YouHero-guitar is a Guitar Hero guitar which, with the help of a specially designed program for PC, can be used as a fully-fledged musical instrument. Duo EN.D.E. constructed the instrument in 2009, together with composers Palle Dahlstedt and Tony Blomdahl. Dahlstedt, who is also a computer researcher, has programmed the patch that transforms the Guitar Hero guitar into a musical instrument.

The concert at Pustervik Theatre was the world premiere of this project, as well as the first performance of the first two compositions for the instrument. In addition, it was the start of a nationwide tour, which also includes workshops in which school children will create music

with YouHero Guitars.

Duo EN.DE: Katarina Widell YouHero-guitar, recorders; Patrik Karlsson YouHero-guitar, archlute

Tony Blomdahl, YouHero-guitar, technique

Palle Dahlstedt Programming

YouHero is implemented by the Premiere Club, in collaboration with Geiger, CY Contemporary, Norberg festival and Uruk Ljungskile, under RANK Project Artists in Motion (AIM # 2), and supported by Swedish Arts Council, Swedish Arts Grants Committee and Helge Ax: son Johnson Foundation.

YouHero

Woodpeckers Recorder Quartet is a dynamic young group of virtuoso recorder players, who share a common interest in performing and promoting both very old and very new music for their instrument. They met while studying together at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm under the inspiring tutorage of their teacher Dan Laurin, and soon realised that they were well suited as both friends and fellow chamber musicians. All four members have now graduated, and plan to continue the journey that they have begun as an ensemble. With Swedish, Norwegian and Irish backgrounds, each member of Woodpeckers has something unique to offer.

As well as focusing on traditional 17th and 18th century repertoire for the recorder, the Woodpeckers are working alongside some young, talented composers, to produce new music for the ensemble. They are also very interested in presenting their instrument in it’s highest capacity to the next generation, and they are currently working on a children’s production entitled Bevinget Bach (Bach with Wings), which they will tour both Norway and Sweden with next year.

Woodpeckers Quartet