Göran Söllscher

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Göran Söllscher with his famous 11-stringed classical guitar.

Göran Söllscher (born December 31, 1955) is a Swedish award-winning classical guitarist known for his broad range of musical interpretations, ranging from Bach to the Beatles. Söllscher's international carrier embarked during his years of education at the Royal Conservatory of Copenhagen in Copenhagen, Denmark; when he, at the age of 23, won the Concours International de Guitare in Paris, 1978. He was immediately signed by German record label Deutsche Grammophon, which is the largest label featuring classical guitarists. As of 2005, Söllscher has released 19 records which altogether have been sold in over a million copies.

Unlike most gifted musicians, Söllcher did not start to play his instrument until the age of seven. Even so, Söllscher is commonly considered one of the most accomplished guitar players of modern times. Since his breakthrough, he has regularly played with all Scandinavian orchestras, several times toured North America, Europe, Japan, and China, and played with the Camerata Bern, the Japan Philharmonic, the English Chamber, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe [1]. Not surprisingly, Söllscher has often been described as the grand old man of guitarists.

In addition to performing, Söllscher is also a teaching professor at the Malmö Academy of Music in Malmö, Sweden from which he graduated 1977. He achieved the professorship in 2002, but had earlier also been an adjunct professor, since 1994, at the same institute. Further information, and an interview in Swedish, can be found here [2].

Söllscher was born in Växjö, on the south-east Swedish mainland, and grew up not far from there in the slightly smaller town of Kalmar Today, Söllscher lives in Vitemölla, a small village on Österlen on the east coast of Skåne, not far from Kivik, where the annual Kivik's market takes place. He has a wife, Kerstin Söllscher, and two kids, Anna and Johan. In addition to his musical achievements he is also a capable golf player, with a handicap of four [3], and reportedly a good table tennis player as well [4] (Danish).