From Sundsvall, Sweden

Finally I had the opportunity to return to Sundsvall (where? – well where’s Wollongong?). I was there 3 years ago. Sundsvall is the main city in the Swedish area of Norrland on the Bothnian coast. Not the most familiar names on the map, but some of the most beautiful Scandinavian parts. It’s a stone’s throw – a massive one at that - across the Gulf of Bothnia to Finland.

Sundsvall is a city of under 100, 000 inhabitants and is the home of the Nordic Chamber Orchestra of which Christian Lindberg is the Artistic Director. I was here to perform and record Dvořák’s violin concerto in A minor.

Sundsvall became wealthy from the forest industry and hence it used to be a city of wood. After its fourth fire in the 1880s they commissioned a city of stone and it’s one of the nicest towns in Sweden. Some exquisite buildings here that you would hope may inspire the construction of modern cities.

After performing in the City Hall, we moved to another hall to record over the next four days.

I love cold weather and was rewarded with -22 Celsius and then a good dose of snow.

This BIS CD will be released in May 2010.

Richard Tognetti
Artistic Director and Lead Violin