Christina Åstrand (born 6 June 1969) is a Danish

violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists * List of contemporary classical violinists * List of jazz violinists * List of popular music violinists * List of Indian violinists * List of Persian violinists * Li ...

. When she was just 22, she became leader of the

Danish National Symphony Orchestra The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (DNSO; ), is a Danish orchestra based in Copenhagen. The DNSO is the principal orchestra of DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation). The DRSO is based at the Koncerthuset () concert hall in Copenhagen. Histo ...

, a position she still holds today.

Biography

Born on 6 June 1969 in

Skanderborg Skanderborg is a town in Skanderborg Municipality, Denmark. It is situated on the north and north eastern brinks of Skanderborg Lake and there are several smaller ponds and bodies of water within the city itself, like Lillesø, Sortesø, Døj S ...

, Åstrand was the daughter Tony Agne Åstrand and Anne-Grete Keller. She was brought up in a musical family in which her father player the trumpet and her maternal grandmother was a pianist. She began to play the violin when she was four at

Aarhus School of Music Aarhus School of Music (Aarhus Musikskole) is a municipal music school located in Aarhus, Denmark. The school was founded in 1932 as a private school, but was taken over by Aarhus Municipality in 1977, which has run the school as an unaccredited i ...

where she was first taught for two years by Tove Detreköy and thereafter for a further two years by her husband Bela Detrekov who specialized in Hungarian music. Both employed the

Suzuki method The Suzuki method is a mid-20th-century music curriculum and teaching method created by Japanese violinist and pedagogue Shinichi Suzuki. The method claims to create a reinforcing environment for learning music for young learners. Backgroun ...

where the pupils learn to play short tunes by ear. Thanks to her good progress, when she was 13 she was able to enter the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

in Aarhus where she was one of the youngest students ever. She was taught by Tutter Givskov who continued to motivate her for many years. After graduating in 1988, she spent a year in Paris as a private student of Gérard Poulet. On her return to Denmark in 1990, she accepted an offer from the

Aarhus Symphony Orchestra The Aarhus Symfoniorkester (Aarhus Symphony Orchestra) is the principal orchestra for the Danish city of Aarhus. Description Established in 1935 as ''Aarhus By-Orkester'' (Aarhus City Orchestra), since 1982 it has performed most of its concerts in ...

to step in as the soloist for the Danish premiere of the violin concerto ''

Offertorium ''Offertorium'' ( Russian ''Жертвоприношение'') is a concerto for violin and orchestra composed by Sofia Gubaidulina in 1980 and revised in 1982 and 1986. It was dedicated to Gidon Kremer, who in touring with it around the worl ...

'' by the Russian composer

Sofia Gubaidulina Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina (24 October 1931 – 13 March 2025) was a Soviet and Russian composer of Modernism (music), modernist Holy minimalism, sacred music. She was highly prolific, producing numerous Chamber music, chamber, Orchestra, orch ...

. The following week she performed as the leader of the newly established Århus Sinfonietta at their very first public concert. She maintained her position there for some time, maintaining a high standard together with the conductor Søren K. Hansen and the composer

Hans Abrahamsen Hans Abrahamsen (born 23 December 1952) is a Danish composer born in Kongens Lyngby near Copenhagen. His ''Let me tell you (Abrahamsen), Let me tell you'' (2013), a song cycle for soprano and orchestra, was ranked by music critics at ''The Guard ...

. In 1993, when she was 24, together with Johannes Soe Hansen, she was appointed leader of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. She also took on the role of soloist in the violin concertos of

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

and

Per Nørgård Per Nørgård (; 13 July 1932 – 28 May 2025) was a Danish composer and music theorist. Though his style varied considerably throughout his career, his music often included repeatedly evolving melodies, in the vein of Jean Sibelius, and a per ...

, both of which were recorded. While she has maintained her position with the National Symphony Orchestra, she has also been a guest soloist with all the leading Scandinavian orchestras, performing not only in the classical concertos of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

Sibelius Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

and

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

but also in modern works. She also performs chamber music, often with Per Salo, her husband, who is a pianist. The couple sometimes play with Jakob Keiding in the Danish Horn Trio. Åstrand's recordings also include works by

Niels Gade Niels Wilhelm Gade (22 February 1817 – 21 December 1890) was a Danish composer, conductor, violinist, organist and teacher. Together with Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann, he was the leading Danish musician of his day, in the period known as ...

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

and

Fini Henriques Valdemar Fini Henriques (baptized ''Finni'') (20 October 1867 at Frederiksberg - 27 October 1940 in Copenhagen) was a Danish composer and violinist. His parents were hospital inspector and justice counsel Vilhelm Moritz Henriques (1828-1889), ...

. In September 2014, she performed with the

Chicago Philharmonic The Chicago Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois, governed by the Chicago Philharmonic Society. Founded in 1988 by principals of the Lyric Opera Orchestra of Chicago, it is a musician-governed, non-profit organization ...

in a concert titled "Nordic Sounds".

Awards

Åstrand, a Dame of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

, has received several awards including a

Jacob Gade Jacob Thune Hansen Gade (29 November 1879 – 20 February 1963) was a Danish violinist and composer, mostly of orchestral popular music. He is remembered today for a single tune, ''Jalousie'' (also known as ''Jalousie "Tango Tzigane" '' and ''T ...

instrumentalist award in 1988 and the

Diapason d'Or The Diapason d'Or (French for "Golden Tuning Fork") is a recommendation of outstanding (mostly) classical music recordings given by reviewers of '' Diapason'' magazine in France, broadly equivalent to "Editor's Choice", "Disc of the Month" in the ...

in 2001.

References

External links

Discography from CD Universe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Astrand, Christina 1969 births Living people Danish violinists Danish women violinists Concertmasters Women classical violinists People from Skanderborg Municipality Musicians from the Central Denmark Region Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century Danish women musicians