Geir Draugsvoll Denmark ← Back to list

The accordionist Geir Draugsvoll has made a remarkable career during the last decades, both as soloist and chamber musician, but perhaps mostly by promoting the accordion as a soloist with Symphony Orchestras. Through collaborations with numerous composers such as Sofia Gubaidulina, Anatolijus Senderovas, Staffan Mossenmark, Bent Lorentzen and Martin Lohse, Geir Draugsvoll must also be characterized as one of the pioneers on the accordion, and he has premiered a large number of works. This includes "Fachwerk" by Sofia Gubaidulina, which is dedicated to Geir Draugsvoll, and today widely acclaimed as one of her most important works.

He has performed as soloist all over the world in Concertgebouw (Holland),  Alte Oper Frankfurt (Germany), Barbican Hall (London), Mariinsky Hall (Skt. Petersburg), Gasteig (Munich), Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory (Russia), Philharmonie Luxembourg, Lockenhaus Festival (Austria), Edinburgh Festival (Scotland), Rheingau Festival (Germany), Mittelfest (Italy), Konzerthaus (Berlin), Musikhalle (Hamburg), Bergen International Festival, (Norway), CCB (Lisbon), NGA (Washington), Zellerbach Hall (Berkeley). 

As soloist, he has performed with London Symphony Orchestra, Münchener Philharmonic, Mariinsky Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Russian National Orchestra, Maggio Musicale Firenze, Norwegian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Kremerata Baltica, Moscow Soloists, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Trondheim Soloists, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Münchener Kammerorchester and collaborates frequently with conductors like Valery Gergiev, Donald Runnicles, Vasily Petrenko, Andres Mustonen, Eva Ollikainen, Clemens Schuldt, David Geringas, Joana Carneiro, Marc Soustrot, Alexander Mayer, Yuri Bashmet. He has released CDs on important labels such as EMI, BIS, Naxos, Simax.

Geir Draugsvoll is Norwegian, but now lives in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he is a Professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Music.