Swedish Organist Jonas Karlsson
Organist – Pianist – Composer – Improviser
On November 10, 2022, I recorded this piano improvisation, on the big Steinway grand piano, in Stockesalen on Frösön. Since I grew up on Frösön in Sweden, I feel at home there. Anyway, this is an improvisation that is a bit inspired by Rachmaninov. It is just a short glimpse on the video.
To get more on fire, it is not a bad idea to sing a little while I play. As long as I don’t sing too loud. The music must be felt inside. I hope you enjoy the video.
In Mars 26, 2023, I took this photo. I am sitting at the Steinway grand piano in the EFS Church, in Östersund/Sweden. I was playing Mozart’s piano works this night. This is my new pianist promotion photo for this year. I will use this photo simply because I am smiling so much. It will be used for YouTube videos, etc. I am not dressed up for a concert, I am just practicing the piano and having some fun.
This was one of the most fun concerts I have ever done. Together with the singer Torbjörn I played a mixed program with Evergreens, and classical piano music. ”Från Evergreens till klassiska mästare”.
When I meet a big audience like this, that is filled with warm feelings, I feel very grateful to be a musician. Torbjörn’s powerful voice, and my natural talent for improvising the accompaniment proved to be a very successful concept. I also played my own solo compositions and Schumann and Chopin. The concert took place in Gamla kyrkan, Östersund, on November 30, 2022.
I hope to see you out there, and that you get the chance to listen to our duo.
Being an organist, and a pianist, you need to practise and book concerts. But once in a while it is also nice to take a new promotion photo. A photo you can use for YouTube, and stuff like that. People change, as the years passes, don’t they?
I do my best to look like a serious classical artist on this photo. The shirt is new.
I have started to practicing the piano in this concert hall now. It is Stockesalen, on Frösön/Sweden.
This hall has a big Steinway concert grand piano, and I have to admit it feels great to get the full concert sound from this piano. Classical music sounds more powerful with the right instrument. The acoustics also sound better in a concert hall. I am looking forward to give a solo piano recital here next year.
Outside the window, there is nature. It is beautiful here.
To follow my music on facebook, just find my facebook page. It looks like this. I post videos and upcoming concerts here.
It was really fun to do a Christmas concert with the singer Torbjön Edlund, in the EFS Church – Östersund, Sweden. We did this concert on December 27, 2021. This is the first time I made a live concert on a Steinway grand piano, and I was delighted to play live on such a powerful instrument.
Half the program was traditional Christmas songs, and half the program was piano solo music. I played Chopin and Schumann, but most of all I did some improvisations, and I played one of my own my virtuoso compostions for solo piano. As I often do, I ended the concert with my own version of ”My Way”. On this concert I improvised a piano fugue on ”Staffansvisan”, and I improvised on some fun themes from Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies.
Torbjörn was singing the traditional Christmas hits, like ”O holy night” and ”Ave Maria”, by Schubert. He also sang two of his own compositions. Very well written music. Torbjörn has a powerful voice, and I hope we will soon make more concerts together.
Torbjörn Edlund – Singer
Lately, I have mostly played piano music by Chopin and Liszt. I guess I find these two romantic piano composers very fascinating. Chopin is the great poet at the piano, and Liszt is for me a romantic fountain of joy.
I practice at a lovely Steinway grand piano, and I love to use this piano to express moods and colors. I always impovise some piano music, after playing classical piano music. Soon I will compose some new piano music too. But first I will record some of Chopin’s Preludes for YouTube.
I have also played some music by Scriabin, because some of Scriabin’s piano music, is written in the same spirit as Chopin. You have to make the piano sing.
At the moment I am playing Chopin’s Preludes, Opus 28. The music is really wonderful and fun, at the same time. Chopin’s 24 Preludes are pretty short, and they all sound different and are written in different keys.
I play some of the Preludes, and I just pick the ones I want to play. What makes this music so special, is that Chopin succeded to write 24 short – but yet so powerful compositions. Some of them are fast virtuoso music, and some of them are slow and sounds like music for a rainy day. But this music makes a rainy day beautiful.
As you probably allready know, concert pianists often choose to play on grand pianos from Steinway & Sons. Why?
Well, at Mälardalen University – Division of Music, they had many grand pianos from Steinway & Sons. I was more used to Yamaha grand pianos. But after a while, you can feel there is something special with a real Steinway. They are hand made, and Steinway are using using the best materials for building theese grand pianos.
This means, theese pianos are capabel of producing many different colours of sound, and they sound very clear.
Now I am also practising on a grand piano from Steinway & Sons, in the EFS church in Östersund/Sweden. And right now I also use it for my recordings.
And I think it is lovely to have a great instrument to play on.
Swedish Organist Jonas Karlsson 