A Portrait of a Friend
Bengt Olof Engström (1926–2026) was Managing Director of Konserthuset Stockholm from 1976 to 1985. In an issue of Konserthuset Stockholm’s magazine Lyssna (No. 32, spring 2013), he wrote a personal portrait of his friend Herbert Blomstedt, who was then 85 years old. The article is reproduced here in its entirety.
At the age of 85, he walks onto the podium, leaning slightly forward but with a firm step, to conduct Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. He radiates energy and concentration and, indeed, youthfulness. The familiar lock of hair falls across his forehead as always, and the little smile of pleasure at the task ahead is still there. Herbert Blomstedt remains the captivating master he has been for decades.
Much has been said about the Finnish conducting miracle, but Herbert Blomstedt is a Swedish conducting miracle in his own right. Neither of us had any inkling of this when we entered the music teacher training programme at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm together in the autumn of 1945. He was 18, I was 19, and we became good friends. We sometimes played violin and piano together, and went for meals of wholegrain porridge and other wholesome fare at the Frisksport Restaurant near Norrmalmstorg.
It did not take long for his exceptional gifts to become apparent. Herbert had a broad musical background – a fine violinist, a good pianist and an accomplished singer. His dedication to his studies was absolute. While I also devoted time to student union activities, Herbert studied intensively, completing his three qualifications in church music and music teaching in four years. He then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree at Uppsala University and study conducting with Tor Mann.
He had realised quite early on that he wanted to become a conductor. With his broad education, he was to become something of a rarity in this much-discussed profession – he was not one of those who had risen from the ranks of an orchestra or moved into conducting from a career as a pianist. His understanding of music is both deep and wide-ranging. From his father, a strict Seventh-day Adventist pastor, he inherited seriousness, intellectual rigour and strength of will; from his mother, a warm-hearted concert pianist, he received warmth, joy and thoughtfulness.
Herbert also possesses a rare ability to concentrate. I witnessed this at close quarters when we studied conducting together in Salzburg in 1951. There, Herbert studied with a maestro who was to have a profound influence on him – Igor Markevitch. It was here that he developed his clear and expressive conducting style.
Herbert is a deeply committed Christian and has always been open about his ties to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He has steadfastly insisted that orchestras around the world respect his refusal to rehearse on Saturdays. And they have done so, ever since his first appointment in Norrköping from 1954 to 1962. The privilege of performing with this conductor has outweighed any inconvenience.
During Herbert’s final years in Norrköping, we worked together, as I was administrator of a newly established, small management office. There I saw how much pleasure he took in his work and how he grew as a conductor. There was no doubt that he had found his true calling. From the 30 musicians on the small stage of the Hörsalen concert hall, he went on to become Sweden’s most internationally successful orchestral conductor of all time.
One of Herbert’s qualities, perhaps more apparent when he was younger, is his remarkable gift for teaching. It is evident in his rehearsal work, was invaluable when he conducted school concerts in Norrköping and the Saturday Music concerts at Konserthuset Stockholm, and proved crucial during his years (1961–71) as Professor of Conducting at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm.
Herbert had made a sensational debut at Konserthuset Stockholm in 1954, and during the 1960s he conducted nearly 150 concerts with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, at times effectively serving as its unofficial Chief Conductor. Here he broadened and deepened his repertoire. From the cornerstones of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Bruckner, he ventured into both earlier classical music and modern works.
By this time, he had already developed a particular fondness for Carl Nielsen and Berwald, and it was he who gave the world premiere of Ingvar Lidholm’s Poesis when the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1964 [counting from the orchestra’s “relaunch” in 1914]. At his debut concert he conducted Hindemith, and in 1964 he led a performance of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring at Konserthuset Stockholm. He then took the work on tour with the orchestra to Oslo and several Swedish cities. A challenge for the orchestra, and a wise move both for musical life and for the conductor!
We now look forward to welcoming the ever-youthful old master and friend in April [2013], when he will conduct Beethoven’s Fourth and Carl Nielsen’s Fifth Symphonies – a typically well-considered Blomstedt programme, contrasting classical balance with defiant Nordic power. We can look forward to an outstanding musical experience. Welcome, Herbert!
— Bengt Olof Engström