GUNNAR BUCHT
Born in Stocksund on 5th August 1927, studies in musicology at Uppsala University (Licenciate of Philosophy, 1953). Studies in composition with Karl-Birger Blomdahl between 1947 and 1951. Subsequent teachers included Carl Orff, Goffredo Petrassi and (perhaps the most important of all) Max Deutsch. Bucht made his début as a pianist but later came to specialise exclusively in composition. From 1953 he taught musicology, among other things, at Stockholm University. Professor of composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm from 1975 to 1985 and Director of the same institution from 1987 to 1993. Numerous administrative appointments: chairman of the concert organization Fylkingen 1956-1959, active in the Swedish section and the International Presidium of the ISCM 1960-1972, chairman of the Society of Swedish Composers 1963-1969, Swedish cultural attaché in Bonn 1970-1973. Elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in 1964. The royal medal Litteris et Artibus 1987. At present living and working as composer and author on the island of Gotland and in Stockholm.

“Paraphrasing the French 18th-century philosopher, my own artistic motto could be read as ‘Tradition, what do you want from me? Live up to me–if you can!’ This means: my relationship to tradition is dialogical; tradition is seen as challenge, not as a pillow. This outlook is reflected in my double activities as a composer and musicologist. The historical and analytical perspectives are always present in my creative work. At the same time, when teaching music history and analysis the artistic dimension is always there, I hope. I teach not only facts but experiences.

The tension between emotionality and intellectuality is reflected in the often dramatic character of my music. There is an affinity with Berlioz’s l’imprévu, the unexpected, as a formal principle. In my music, the architecture is nearly bursting from within and at the same time is being kept on a tight rein. Maliciously, my music could be characterized as a composition of intensely dramatic and poetic moments on one side and road-consuming sections on the other.
Orchestral work dominates my output, much of it of long duration. It satisfies my need for emotional expansion and narration. Since the 1970s, the titles reveal a lot about the contents. Reading them you could reformulate my artistic belief as follows: I believe in an absolute music permeated with extramusical ideas of the world, with echoes of history, with inner pictures and visions, with wordless drama.”
(Rev. March 1998)

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