Erling Blöndal Bengtsson

Who was Erling Blöndal Bengtsson?

B. 8. March 1932 in Copenhagen, Denmark. - D June 6 2013 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

ERLING BLÖNDAL BENGTSSON was one of the great cellists of the 20th century.

A larger-than-life sized bronze statue of ERLING BLÖNDAL BENGTSSON stands in front of Reykjavik´s Concert hall in Iceland´s capital city. Erected in 1970, the statue, by the Icelandic sculptress Olöf Palsdottir, is the testimonial to the esteem in which the legendary cellist is held by all of Scandinavia.

ERLING BLÖNDAL BENGTSSON performed all over Europe, the United States, South America and Russia.

His repertoire was all-encompassing and he has championed the works of leading Scandinavian composers, as well as performing the Scandinavian premieres of cello concertos by Britten, Barber, Khatchaturian, Delius, Lutoslawsky and Walton and, indeed, the latter two, themselves, conducted several performances each with Mr. Bengtsson as soloist.

A consistent recording artist, with over 50 albums, he had, along with the complete standard repertoire for cello and orchestra, recorded many contemporary concertos, most of which were dedicated to him. In 1985, his recordings of the six Cello Suites of J.S.