Jonas Nordberg is a lutenist mastering a wide range of plucked instruments from the 16th to 19th centuries. A graduate of the Mozarteum University Salzburg and the Royal College of Music Stockholm, he has an active schedule in more than 25 countries, performing solo concerts, chamber music, staged performances and large ensemble work.
As a recording artist, 2015 saw his solo debut album for Eudora Records, ‘Music by de Visée, Weiss & Dufaut’ was released to critical acclaim worldwide. In 2017 ‘Heroines of love and loss’ was released on BIS Records featuring music by female composers and fictive heroines together with Ruby Hughes, soprano and Mime Yamahiro-Brinkmann, baroque cello, receiving a Diapason d’Or award. From 2018 onwards he records solo work exclusively for BIS Records, releasing Intavolatura di Chitarone featuring music by Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger (Gramophone Editor’s Choice) as his initial album in 2019. 2022 saw the release of ‘Lessons’ with solo lute works by John Dowland.
His solo recital programs include the music of John Dowland, music for theorbo by Robert de Visée, French lute music juxtaposed with works by Silvius Leopold Weiss as well as the wizardry Italian Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger. Often these programs are mixed up with works by contemporary composers, creating a varied sound scape and a big range of expressions.
Together with soprano Ruby Hughes he performs all lute song repertoire, with a special focus on the Elizabethan Era and Italian monody. With viol player Liam Byrne he explores the music of Marin Marais and other French composers mixed with contemporary music for theorbo/viol & electronics. In a chamber ensemble setting he works regularly with El Gran Teatro del Mundo (ES), CONTINUUM (DE) & Orfeus Barockensemble (SE).
Venues in recent seasons include BAM New York, Philharmonie de Paris, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Berlin Philharmonie, Palau de la Musica Barcelona, National Sawdust NYC, Kioi Hall Tokyo, Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, Royal Opera House London, King’s Place London, Concertgebouw Brügge, Opera Comédie Montpellier, Grand Théatre Luxembourg, Mozarteum Salzburg, Drottningholms Slottsteater, Confidencen, Malmö Opera, Kulturhuset Stadsteatern Stockholm, Helsinki City Theatre, Salzburger Landestheater, Gothenburg Concert Hall, Stockholm Concert Hall etc.
He performs with period ensembles such as Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, London Handel Orchestra, Concerto Copenhagen, Orfeo 55, Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble, Armonia Athenea, Insula Orchestra, Concerto Köln, Camerata Øresund, Les Accents & Rebaroque. He also works with modern orchestras Aurora Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Swedish Wind Ensemble, Ensemble 1B1, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra & Gävle Symphony Orchestra.
He has an extensive collaboration with choreographer Kenneth Kvarnström, resulting in six large scale stage works in recent years. The meeting between baroque music and contemporary dance gives the music a new dimension, a visual chamber music partner for the solo pieces and a way to communicate through physical gestures and impulses. In their most performed work, sofa(r), Nordberg and Kvarnström teamed up for a critically acclaimed duet combining elements of dance, baroque music for lute and theorbo, electronic music and speech in a dark world exploring death. This also marked his debut as a dancer.
He also works extensively with Swedish chamber ensemble Operabyrån, co-creating chamber operas and semi-staged performances featuring forgotten female composers.