In Conversation with
January 2008
A little background:
Beata Söderberg according to her page on myspace.com started
playing the cello when she was eight, and she hasn't stopped since.
She says she was trained at the Royal Academy of Music in
Stockholm, Sweden before moving to New York City to complete
a Masters in Music at the Manhattan School of Music in 2002.
Beata advises it was after completing her studies she started to
write her own tango music and in the summer of 2004
she travelled to Buenos Aires to record her first album, Beatitudes.
Beata says she devoted performer of classical music, playing concerts
throughout Sweden with a repertoire from early baroque to
contemporary music as well as jazz and Broadway hits.
In true Setting Sun fashion, I discovered her beautiful music by
Chance and was bewitched by what I heard as it was really stirring
Stuff – enough to make sure I approached her for a interview and
Of course this soon followed in response.
Thanks to Beata for all of her time and trouble.
Cheers
Andy N
Please go to these websites for more details:
or her site on tangoportalen, www.tangoportalen.com/beatasoderberg.
Cheers
Andy N
Setting Sun:
How are things and what’s happening at the moment?
Beta:
Everything is fine here, except the Swedish winter weather... I am playing and
writing some vocal music, something I have never tried before. It's very
exciting, especially to do the lyrics.
Setting Sun:
Next, can you tell us a little bit about the history of your music or as I
Like to say – who fired the starting pistol?
Beta:
I went to New York to study for my Master of Music degree,
I am a classically trained cellist.There I discovered a tango club
called La Belle epoque, and I started to hang out there since I love
dancing. I got really interested in tango music, both traditional and
Piazzolla and other new things, and after a few years I began to
write my own tangos for quintet.
Setting Sun:
What are your influences music-wise and what are your influences?
Beta:
I think my music has elements from tango, jazz and classical,
romantic music. I get influenced by all music I listen too though,
and from people and places I come across.
Setting Sun:
I know you play gigs, how do these compare to your recordings –
is their one you prefer to the other?
Beta:
It's impossible to compare the two. I love to play concerts,
that's the whole point of being a musician, the communication
with the audience, but working in the studio producing my
own music, experiencing how it's coming alive in this very
unique and intence process is incredible and fascinating.
I love all parts of this job, alas the many lonely hours
of writing, arranging and practicing.
Setting Sun:
I have being enjoying all of your tunes on myspace.com,
but the one I have being enjoying the most is El Gaucho….
Can you tell us a little bit more about this song?
Beta:
I was with 2 friends in Buenos Aires. It was my first time
there, and they took me around to show me everything,
and they told me stories of the country, and one thing
that fascinated me was the gaucho, the Argentinean
cowboy, their particular lifestyle, clothes and manners. So
we were sort of joking about that, and made this theme
"El Gaucho, el el el Gaucho, with handclapping and stuff,
and we got really obsessed with it, and on the plane back
to Sweden I wrote the song El gaucho. The cello opens
with that particular joking theme, and the rest of the song
is sort of expressing the adventures of me and those two friends.
Setting Sun:
What’s next for you? Do you have any more concerts planned etc?
Beta:
I am going to Chile, Uruguay and Argentina in April.
Now I am working in Sweden with my baroque group and a
children's musical theater. I will play in a festival in Kongsberg,
Norway at the end of January.
Setting Sun:
Where are you from? What’s the music scene like there nowadays?
Have you being to any good gigs recently etc?
Beta:
I am from Sweden. I live in Stockholm, the capital. We have a
pretty good music scene here, both for pop, rock, classical and
world music. I do fun gigs all the time.
At Christmas time I did Messiah and Bach Christmas oratorio
on period instruments.
Setting Sun:
Couple of quick, fun questions to finish off with, first of all, what would
Be your dream job if you were not doing music?
Beta:
I cannot think of a doing anything else. But it would be fun to have a dog.
Setting Sun:
What would you like to be doing when you are 60?
Beta:
Playing and writing music, travelling and maybe have a dog.
Setting Sun:
Lastly, what will you be doing when you are 60?
Beta:
If I am alive I will do what I just wrote plus eating good food
and drinking great wines.