Erling B. Bengtsson

Professor Emeritus of Cello
erlingbb@umich.edu

Education:
DIPLOMA, Curtis Institute of Music

Professor Bengtsson came to Michigan following a distinguished teaching and performing career in Europe. He began cello studies at age three with his father in Copenhagen and subsequently became a student of Gregor Piatigorsky at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he joined the faculty immediately upon graduation. He later returned to his native Denmark as professor at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, serving for 37 years. Concurrently, he was teacher of cello at the Swedish Radio Music School of Advanced Instrumental Studies in Stockholm and at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne. Professor Bengtsson has given countless master classes throughout Europe and the United States.

Professor Bengtsson made his first concert appearance at the age of four and debuted as orchestral soloist at ten. He has enjoyed a busy schedule as recitalist and soloist with ensembles including the Royal Philharmonic, the BBC, English Chamber Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Gulbenkian Orchestra (Lisbon), and Czech Philharmonic, and the orchestras of Baden-Baden, Brussels, Cologne, Copenhagen, The Hague, Hamburg, Helsinki, Leningrad, Oslo, and Stockholm.

Professor Bengtsson has made more than 50 recordings, including highly praised performances of concertos by Boccherini, Haydn, Schumann, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Lalo, Saint-Saëns, the complete Bach cello suites, Beethoven and Brahms sonatas. In 1998, his recording of the Kodaly solo Sonata was chosen by the Guinness Classical 1000 as among the top thousand recordings of all time.

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