Pianist Martin Malmgren is a versatile performer who loves exploring both the knowns and the unknowns of the musical universe. He has performed widely across four continents and enjoys making music in all possible settings – as soloist, lied pianist, chamber musician, orchestra pianist, in contemporary music ensembles, folk music bands and in collaboration with pop singers.
With an unusually wide repertoire, he takes delight in surprising his audiences by programming unjustly neglected works and composers, in addition to the standard repertoire. His concert programs typically show a thoughtful approach which builds bridges between different musical styles and periods. He is a founding member of the Agora music collective.
As a sought-after soloist, he has appeared with Sinfonia Lahti, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Belgrade Symphony, Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Torun Philharmonic Orchestra, Oulu Sinfonia, Jyväskylä Sinfonia and others. He has given Finnish premieres of Elliott Carter’s “Dialogues II”, Doreen Carwithen’s piano concerto and Guillaume Connesson’s Concertino. His work in music archeology has led to the rediscovery of the Finnish-born composer Moses Pergament – in the nearest year, he will release world premiere recordings including Pergament’s piano concerto, songs with soprano Tuuli Lindeberg, as well as the complete works for violin and piano, with violinist Sebastian Silén.
Malmgren is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at the Sibelius Academy, where he has previously received a Master of Music degree with Ilmo Ranta as his main piano teacher. Other important teachers have included Konstantin Bogino, Jerome Lowenthal, Henri Barda, Liisa Pohjola, Antti Hotti, Juhani Lagerspetz and Tuija Hakkila.