Composition year: 2006
Level of skill: Intermediate
Instrumentation: cl 2vn va vc
Category: Chamber music
Emmy Lindström is a Swedish composer and violinist known for her emotionally resonant, melodically rich music—often infused with humor and theatrical flair. Rooted in a neo-romantic tradition, her work explores contrasting sound worlds with remarkable fluidity. Her international breakthrough came in 2010 with Magnolia, performed across Europe during clarinetist Emil Jonason’s Rising Star tour.
Her major success followed in 2017 with the clarinet concerto At the Hills of Hampstead Heath, co-commissioned by four Swedish orchestras and later recorded by Jonason and the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra under Stefan Solyom. The piece has since been widely performed in Europe and the U.S.
Lindström was Composer-in-Residence with the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra in 2018/19, where she wrote The Lost Clown, an orchestral work in 21 movements inspired by Schönberg’s Pierrot Lunaire. A wind version was later created for the Östgöta Blåsarsymfoniker and Christian Lindberg.
Her growing recognition includes the 2022 oratorio Ålevangeliet, based on Patrik Svensson’s acclaimed book, premiered at Folkoperan and toured nationally. In 2022/23, she was Composer-in-Residence at Spira Kulturhus with Jönköpings Sinfonietta. In 2023, her Sång utan ord, a tribute to Stenhammar, was premiered by the Swedish Radio Choir and Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Dedicated to reaching younger audiences, Lindström has also composed orchestral works for El Sistema youth orchestras. Upcoming projects include a concerto for orchestra (Rösaring, 2025) with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, a string quintet for Swedish Radio P2, and a trumpet concerto in two versions (for symphony and wind orchestra).
Born in Linköping, Lindström studied violin, orchestral performance, and composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, and privately with composers Rolf Martinsson and Albert Schnelzer. Her music reflects a wide stylistic grounding—from Swedish choral tradition to classical, jazz, folk, and musical theatre—often revealing fresh and unexpected perspectives.
