Per-Olov Kindgren (born 10 June 1956 in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

, Colombia) is a Swedish

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

ist,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and music teacher known for his

playing, ranging from

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

Biography

Early life

Kindgren was born in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, to a Swedish father and a Danish mother. Kindgren's father, Owe, an engineer, worked for the Colombian branch of LM Ericsson installing telephone stations. The family returned to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

when Kindgren was three years old. He lived there from 1960 until 1970. At the age of six, Kindgren was fascinated by a bright red electric guitar in a shop window. The Beatles became his heroes, and he especially admired

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

. His parents gave him a

for his seventh birthday. In 1970 he saw a documentary about

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

broadcast on Danish national television. When Kindgren was 14 years old, his family moved to the border town of

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; ), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a coastal city in northeastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 63,953 on 1 January 2025, making it the 23rd most populated municipality in Denmark. Helsin ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. There he was able to attend a Swedish high school in

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...

, where he met his first classical guitar teacher, Torvald Nilsson.

Professional life

In 1976 Kindgren began to study at The Royal Danish Academy of Music in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, where he moved during his studies and where he lives and works today. He studied there for 7 years with professor Per-Olof Johnson until his graduation in 1983. While continuing his studies, he became a music teacher, teaching at music schools in Vallensbæk and

Gentofte Gentofte () is a district of Gentofte Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Major landmarks include Gentofte Town Hall, Gentofte Hospital and Gentofte Church. Gentofte Lake with surrounding parkland and nature reserves form ...

for 24 years. Presently Kindgren works as a music teacher at the music school in Gentofte, which provides him with a steady living in addition to the concerts he performs. In 1979 he joined three other guitarists, Steffen Broe Christensen, Dag Egil Berge and Torsten Borbye Nielsen, and formed the Nordic Guitar Quartet, which performed more than 400 concerts throughout its existence and also recorded an album called: Images .. with arrangements to A.Vivaldi, M. Ravel, and JS Bach from TB Nielsen. Kindgren composes pieces for

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...

guitar, as well as for duets, trios,

quartet In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...

s, and up to

septet A septet is a formation containing exactly seven members. It is commonly associated with musical groups but can be applied to any situation where seven similar or related objects are considered a single unit, such as a seven-line stanza of poetry ...

s and

octets Octet may refer to: Music * Octet (music), ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices, or composition written for such an ensemble ** String octet, a piece of music written for eight string instruments *** Octet (Mendelssohn), 1825 compos ...

for guitar. In 1998 he composed pieces for

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

, and a

rock band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

for the 25th anniversary of the Vallensbæk music school; in 2000 he composed a Christmas

Oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

for

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

s, choir and

narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

. In 2009, the great French

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

and composer Jean-Marie Raymond wrote for him a beautiful piece, titled "As Always."."As always"

Musical style

Kindgren's style is mainly classical, with influences from

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, and

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

. In addition to his classical repertoire, Kindgren also plays works of The Beatles and

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

. Kindgren likes to describe his own compositions as songs without words.

Gear

Instrument

For many years Kindgren played a

built by Swiss

luthier A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be ...

Philippe Jean-Mairet, which he bought in 1987. A friend of his, Jørgen, had bought a guitar from the Swiss luthier, whom he had met in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

during his studies, and loved its superb quality. Kindgren asked his friend to order a guitar for him, and nine months later he was able to visit Jean-Mairet in Switzerland to test his new guitar. Previously he owned a Martin Fleeson guitar, which he had bought in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1986 for 25,000 DKK (about

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

3,350 or $4,400 at the time). One year later Kindgren bought his Jean-Mairet instrument. In the summer 2006, Kindgren went to guitar builder Per Hallgren in Gråbo, near Gothenburg, in order to have the guitar French polished again. In 2009 he started to play a guitar by Per Hallgren and since then he has played several instruments by the Swedish builder. He also plays a 7-string classical guitar given to him by John and Judy Rogerson.

Guitar Support

In his videos, Kindgren can be seen using a Gitano guitar support on his left lap.

Discography

* 1992 - ''Images'', Nordic Guitar Quartet (Primaveramusic) * 2008 - ''After Silence'' (Villa Luisa Records) * 2010 - ''Distant Love'' * 2011 - ''AIR'' * 2023 - ''For My Love'' (Feat. Jimmy Quango and Gaugolon)

Images: Nordic Guitar Quartet (Primaveramusic)

A. Vivaldi

1. Concerto Grosso Op.3 No.8: Allegro, 2. Concerto Grosso Op.3 No.8: Larghetto e Spirituoso, 3. Concerto Grosso Op.3 No.8: Allegro,

J.S. Bach

4. Orchetral Suite No.1, BWV 1066: Courante. 5. Orchetral Suite No.1, BWV 1066: Gavotte 1 and 2. 6. Orchetral Suite No.1, BWV 1066: Forlane. 7. Orchetral Suite No.1, BWV 1066: Minuet 1 and 2. 8. Orchetral Suite No.1, BWV 1066: Bourrée 1 and 2. 9. Orchetral Suite No.1, BWV 1066: Passepled 1 and 2.

M. Ravel

10. Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte.

C. Machado

11. Dancas Populares Brasileiras: Ponteio (Agalopado) 12. Dancas Populares Brasileiras: Ciranda (Roda, Roda) 13. Dancas Populares Brasileiras: Catira (Bati Sola) 14. Dancas Populares Brasileiras: Cantiga (Minar) 15. Dancas Populares Brasileiras: Frevo (Isquenta ô pé)

L. Brouwer

16. Cuban Landscape with Rain.

F. Moreno Torroba

17. Estampas: Bailando un Fandango Charro. 18. Estampas: Remanso. 19. Estampas: La Siega. 20. Estampas: Fiesta en el Pueblo. 21. Estampas: Amanecer. 22. Estampas: La Boda. 23. Estampas: Camino del Molino. 24. Estampas: Juegos Infantiles.

References

External links

Per-Olov Kindgren's official site

Per-Olov Kindgren's YouTube Profile

Per-Olov Kindgren's vimeo.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kindgren, Per-Olov 1956 births Living people Swedish classical composers Swedish male classical composers Swedish classical guitarists Swedish people of Danish descent