Jakob Lindberg was born in Djursholm in Sweden and developed his first passionate interest
in music through the Beatles. He started to play the guitar and soon became interested in the
classical repertoire. From the age of fourteen he studied with Jörgen Rörby who also gave him his
first tuition on the lute.
After reading music at Stockholm University he went to London to study at
the Royal College of Music, where he further developed his knowledge of the lute repertoire under the
guidance of Diana Poulton, and decided towards the end of his studies to concentrate on renaissance
and baroque music; he is now one of the most prolific performers in this field.
Jakob has made numerous recordings for BIS, many of which are pioneering in that they present
a wide range of music on CD for the first time. He has brought Scottish lute music to public
attention, demonstrated the beauty of the Italian repertoire for chitarrone and recorded chamber
music by Vivaldi, Haydn and Boccherini on period instruments.
He is the first lutenist to have
recorded the complete solo lute music by John Dowland and his recording of Bach's music
for solo lute is considered to be one of the most important readings of these works.
Most recently released on the BIS label:
Seven suites of Swedish folk tunes
Sonatas of Weiss
Musique and sweet Poetrie, a sequence of solos and songs with Emma Kirkby.
Sonatas of Weiss 2
Orpheus in England - Dowland and Purcell, a sequence of lute solos and songs with Emma Kirkby.
Italian Virtuosi
of the Chitarrone
Jacobean Lute Music
Italian Lute Virtuosi
of the Renaissance
An active continuo player on the theorbo and arch lute, Jakob has worked with many well known English
ensembles including The English Concert, Taverner Choir, The Purcell Quartet, Monteverdi Choir, Chiaroscuro,
The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and The Academy of Ancient Music. He is also in demand as an
accompanist and has given recitals with Emma Kirkby, Ann Sofie von Otter, Nigel Rogers and Ian Partridge.
He assisted Andrew Parrott in the musical direction of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas given by The Royal Swedish Opera
at Drottningholm Court Theatre in 1995, and also directed from the chitarrone the much acclaimed performances of Jacopo Peri's Euridice
given there in 1997.
It is particularly through his live solo performances that he has become known as one of the finest lutenists
in the world today, with concerts all over the globe from Tokyo and Beijing in the East to San Francisco and
Mexico City in the West.
In addition to his busy life as a performer, Jakob Lindberg teaches at the Royal College of
Music in London where he succeeded Diana Poulton as professor of lute in 1979
