The works of Frej Wedlund evoke a sense of ambiguity, exposedness and quiet tension, always seeking to explore the intimate in music and sound.
Wedlund’s catalogue consists largely of acoustic, notated instrumental works ranging from solo pieces to orchestral music. An important focal point for Wedlund is what he describes as “sublime imperfection” in which he deals with incomplete, unbalanced and unfulfilled form. This enhances a sense of intimacy for the listener in addition to the layers of reflective, concealed expression and distinct intensity.
In recent years, Wedlund has been especially concerned with the conscious act of “misreading” inspired by literary critic Harold Bloom. With this approach, Wedlund’s works playfully and subtly relate to cultural heritage and musical canon on multiple levels and with hidden meanings. In where do we go now? (2020) for example, Wedlund “misreads” Western functional tonality through the lens of spectralism. Wedlund draws on his own musical heritage for Innermost peace (2021) which has a Swedish folk tune as its underlying secret.
His works have been performed across the Nordic countries, Europe and USA by world-renowned ensembles such as the Arditti Quartet, Ensemble intercontemporain, Keuris Quartet and ensemble recherche.
Since the beginning of his career, Wedlund has won numerous grants and awards for his work as a composer, including the New Note Composition Competition (2021), O/Modernt Composition Award (2019), North Carolina New Music Initiative Composition Award (2017) and 4x4 Prizes (2016).
Frej Wedlund studied composition at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm and the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen with teachers including Per Mårtensson, Jeppe Just Christensen and Niels Rosing-Schow. He was born in the Swedish town of Östersund and is now based in Copenhagen.
