Vallsta, Sweden

Swedish Nyckelharpa

Peter “Puma” Hedlund, a native of Uppland, earned the designation riksspelman (fiddler of the realm) while still in his teens.  Inspired and taught by legendary Eric Sahlström, Hedlund won the World Championship title in nyckelharpa twice, in 1992 and 2000, is considered Sweden’s leading traditional player of the modern chromatic nyckelharpa.

Hedlund, perhaps better known by his childhood nickname Puma, prefers to play the nyckelharpa unaccompanied by other performers. "This is a nyckelharpa. Just nyckelharpa. This is a bit unusual." So says Hedlund in the liner notes to his new recording, an unaccompanied album of nyckelharpa music.

Justly proud of his position as a master of an instrument valued in Swedish traditional music, Peter is gradually expanding the horizons of nyckelharpa expression.  In his role as an instructor, he is influencing and nurturing the growth and development of the next generation of nyckelharpa players. In addition to playing old tunes, Peter also "makes" tunes, which are quickly gaining favor among today's nyckelharpa players.

Neglected and almost forgotten by the 1940s and 50s, the modern chromatic nyckelharpa is blossoming as never before both in Sweden and elsewhere, especially the USA and Japan. A current venture close to Peter's heart is his collaboration with Rita Leydon in the development and production of a three volume interactive Nyckelharpa Workshop in DVD format.

Links
What is a Nyckelharpa?

http://www.peterhedlund.com/bio.html

http://www.whisperinandhollerin.com/reviews/review.asp?id=1441

http://www.rpmmusic.se/rpmmusic.se/Vagenreviews.html

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