Performers & composers

Åke Parmerud 

Åke Parmerud (1953) has been professionally active as a composer since 1978. He studied at the Göteborg Music Conservatory, after having worked as a professional photographer between 1972-74. His list of works includes instrumental music as well as electro-acoustic compositions, multimedia, video and music for theater, dance and film. It is however his electro-acoustic music in particular that has gained  an international reputation, most noticably through a great number of festival prizes.

(Bourges festival 1978, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1991, 1992 Prix Ars Electronica 1990, 1994, Prix Noroit 1991 Stockholm Electronic Arts Award 1993, Metamorphosis 2000, Bourges Magistere 2005)

His LP ”Yttringar” and the CD "Invisible music" was awarded a Grammy as the best classical CD in Sweden 1984 and 1995, and in 1997 his work "Grains of Voices" was performed in the New York headquarters during the United Nations day. Music by Parmerud has represented the Swedish Radio in Prix Italia at two occasions and he has composed a number of works comissioned by international institutions in Canada, Holland, France, Germany, Norway and Denmark. His music is played worldwide.

Åke Parmerud also works as a sound and software designer for innovative interactive installations and his own installations ”The Fire Inside” , ”The Living Room” and ”Lost Angel” have been shown in Berlin, Paris, Mexico City, Leon, Copenhagen, Reykavik and various places in Sweden.

Retur (1992-93)

The melodic and harmonic structure of Retur (Return) is based on some transcribed phrases from a saxophone solo by the legendary american musician Charlie Parker. This is one in a series of compositions concerned with my relation to music historical artefacts. Alias (1990), Renaissance (1994) and Zeit aus Zeit (2003) are other examples of pieces dealing with the same subject.
Retur is a kind of musical letter, written on the paper of time, adressed to the sender of the original musical message, Charlie Parker. The piece was written for The Stockholm Saxophone Quartet and was comissioned by the Swedish Institute for National Concerts.