Paavo Berglund

Conductor

1929 – 2012

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Who was Paavo Berglund?

Paavo Allan Engelbert Berglund OBE was a Finnish conductor and violinist.

Born in Helsinki, Berglund studied the violin as a child, and played an instrument made by his grandfather. By age 15, he had decided on music as his career, and by 18 was playing in restaurants. During the Second World War, Berglund worked at the iron factories in Billnäs. Children were moved out of Helsinki during heavy stages of the war. His professional career as a violinist began in 1946, playing the whole summer at the Officers Mess in Helsinki. He already had played in dance orchestras in 1945. Formal study took place in Helsinki at the Sibelius Academy, in Vienna and in Salzburg. He was a violinist in the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1949–1958 in the 1st violin section, unique among the instrumentalists in being accommodated for seating to account for the fact that he was left-handed.

In a radio interview made of the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE in 2002, Berglund explains how he heard the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra on their tour in Helsinki with Wilhelm Furtwängler and was very impressed. Shortly after that he left for Vienna to study. He had many friends both in the Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestras, and could attend rehearsal and recording sessions. One particular recording session he remembers is when he was present one evening when Furtwängler recorded Schumann's Manfred Overture and Smetana's Moldau at the Musikverein in Vienna. Another conductor that he was very impressed with was Hans Knappertsbusch.

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Born
Apr 14, 1929
Helsinki
Also known as
  • Berglund, Paavo
Nationality
  • Finland
Profession
Education
  • Sibelius Academy
Lived in
  • Helsinki
Died
Jan 25, 2012

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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