Introducing The Guitar Player

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Swedish classical guitarist Mattias Schulstad releases his second full-length album, The Guitar Player. The album features beloved works for the guitar and traditional songs from his homeland.

"This recording features some of my earliest musical impressions." —Mattias Schulstad

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—On August 4, 2023, the Swedish classical guitarist Mattias Schulstad released his album The Guitar Player. Immediate features include Album of the Week by Classic FM (U.K.) and five playlist placements by Apple Music. Of the album's eighteen tracks, ten have been editorially featured to date.

The Guitar Player features a selection of works from the guitar's standard repertoire, which form an eclectic collection of gems. It's complemented by works from Sweden's treasure trove of songs, presented in new minimalist arrangements for the guitar.

The guitar's and Sweden's musical traditions meet in two similar folk songs, El cant dels ocells (Spain), and Ack Värmeland, du sköna (Sweden), presented here on record together for the first time. The Guitar Player is named after Vermeer's eponymous painting, from 1672, and the release coincides with Sweden’s 500th anniversary as a nation, in 2023.

"This recording features some of my earliest musical impressions," says Mattias Schulstad. "It joins the two traditions I grew up in."

The release will be joined by a visual album, featuring filmed performances of all tracks, and conversation between Mattias and Pulitzer-winner Tim Page.

Leading up to the release, Mattias Schulstad performed a solo recital at The Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden.

Mattias Schulstad performing at The Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden, September 29, 2022.

Track list
01. Roland Dyens: Tango en skaï
02. Stanley Myers: Cavatina (from "The Deer Hunter")
03. Isaac Albéniz: Suite española, Op.47, No.5: Asturias (Leyenda)
04. Carlo Domeniconi: Koyunbaba, Op.19: I. Moderato
05. Carlo Domeniconi: Koyunbaba, Op.19: II. Mosso
06. Carlo Domeniconi: Koyunbaba, Op.19: III. Cantabile
07. Carlo Domeniconi: Koyunbaba, Op.19: IV. Presto
08. Oscar Ahnfelt: Blott en dag (arr. for Guitar by Mattias Schulstad)
09. Agustín Barrios Mangoré: Una limosna por el amor de Dios
10. Manuel de Falla: Homenaje (pour le tombeau de Debussy)
11. Trad.: Ack Värmeland, du sköna (Swedish folk song) (arr. for Guitar by Mattias Schulstad)
12. Eduardo Sainz de la Maza: Campanas del alba
13. Trad: Koralmelodi från Älvdalen (Swedish folk song) (arr. for Guitar by Mattias Schulstad)
14. Trad: El cant dels ocells (Catalan folk song) (arr. for Guitar by Emilio Pujol)
15. Waldemar Åhlén: Sommarpsalm
16. Agustín Barrios Mangoré: Villancico de Navidad
17. Evert Taube: Nocturne
18. Johann Sebastian Bach: Prelude in C minor, BWV 999 (arr. for Guitar by Mattias Schulstad)

In the week ahead of its release, Classic FM named The Guitar Player Album of the Week, highlighting five tracks on weekdays around 10:20 AM local time:

1. Albéniz: Suite española, Op.47, No.5: Asturias (Leyenda)
2. Dyens: Tango en skaï
3. Bach: Prelude in C minor, BWV 999
4. Swedish trad.: Ack Värmeland, du sköna (Dear Old Stockholm)
5. Taube: Nocturne

 Upon its release, Apple Music chose four tracks, highly placed on five playlists:

1. Swedish trad.: Koralmelodi från Älvdalen (Classical A.M. & Songs Without Words)
2. Taube: Nocturne (Classical Music for Love)
3. Catalan trad.: El cant dels ocells (Guitar Chill)
4. Dyens: Tango en skaï (New in Classical)

TIDAL chose two tracks and Spotify chose one track:

1. Domeniconi: Koyunbaba Op.19: I. Moderato (Tidal's Classical: TIDAL HiRes)
2. Albéniz: Suite española, Op.47, No.5: Asturias (Leyenda) (Tidal's Encore: New in Classical)
3. Myers: Cavatina (from "The Deer Hunter") (Spotify's Classical New Releases)

Phillip Gainsley hosted Mattias on his podcast Let's Talk Music, featuring the tracks:

1. Myers: Cavatina (from "The Deer Hunter")
2. Bach: Prelude in C minor, BWV 999
3. Falla: Homenaje (pour le tombeau de Debussy)
4. Chopin: Nocturne Op.9 No.2 (arranged for guitar by Tárrega/Schulstad)

The Guitar Player includes the single Prelude in C minor, BWV 999 (Bach), heard to date on:

1. Classic FM (Album of the Week)
2. BBC Radio 3 (Breakfast, Saturday)
3. NPO Radio 4 (Lekkere track)
4. Spotify (Classical New Releases)
5. TIDAL (Encore: New in Classical)
6. YouTube Music (Basically Baroque)

The music video of Myers’ Cavatina (from "The Deer Hunter") was released, featured by Augustine Strings on its Instagram channel.

Click here to watch the video.

Two release events were held, in central Stockholm and the Stockholm archipelago. Guests included Pulitzer-winner Tim Page and guitarist Mats Bergström.

The Stockholm Archipelago, August 5, 2023. Photo: Stefan Jacobsson Schulstad

Central Stockholm, August 4, 2023. From left to right: Mattias Schulstad, Tim Page; Mats Bergström, Mattias Schulstad.

About Mattias Schulstad
Mattias Schulstad is a Swedish musician and classical guitarist, whose full-length album debut Invocación (2012) introduced the notion in recent history that Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849) influenced the guitar as we know it today. The album is named Editor's Choice by Gramophone, which describes Mattias Schulstad's playing as "refined, intelligent and highly musical" and calls the album "an outstanding debut."

Invocación is chosen as Album of the Week by Classic FM (U.K.) and WQXR (New York), and heard on editorial playlists on Spotify, where it's reached approximately two million streams to date.

In 2013, Mattias Schulstad made a filmed recording for The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, featuring the song "Come, Heavy Sleep" by John Dowland (1563 – 1626), arranged by Benjamin Britten (1913 – 1976), from his Nocturnal after John Dowland, Op.70 (1963).

The filmed recording of "Come, Heavy Sleep" has been utilized by The Met across its web and social media channels, including to celebrate National Guitar Day, and to complement the museum's essay on the history of the classical guitar.

Credits
Produced by David Frost and Mattias Schulstad
Mixing and mastering: Silas Brown
Editing: Mattias Schulstad
Recording dates: February 4, April 20-24, August 3 & 8, 2022
Recording location: RMV Studio, Stockholm, Sweden
Recording engineers: Linn Fijal, Vilma Colling
Assistant engineer: Nathalie Martinez
Assistant engineer (Bach & Myers): Vilma Colling
Mixing engineer (Falla): Vilma Colling
Editing, mixing and mastering engineer (Bach): Brian Losch
Mastering engineer (Falla): Brian Losch
Guitar: Ignacio Fleta e hijos, No.577, 1971 ("Erik")
Photography (cover image): Tina Signesdottir
Photography (The Royal Palace, Stockholm, Sweden): Karl Gabor

Total time: 53:01
Release date: August 4, 2023

UPC: 197189087813
Label: Mattias Schulstad
Catalog number: MS006

Email address: info@mattiasguitar.com
Mailing address: Box 11145, 100 61 Stockholm, Sweden
Website: https://mattiasguitar.com

? © 2023 Mattias Schulstad
All unauthorized use, including but not limited to sync and AI training, is prohibited without explicit permission.

This album was enabled by supporters including lead sponsor Kjell och Märta Beijers Stiftelse and the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation.

The Guitar Player is dedicated to the memory of Erik Möllerström.