Scandinavian Guitar Duo

Per Pålsson and Jesper Sivebæk’s collaboration started in their student days at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, Esbjerg, Denmark, when their professor, Jørgen Bjørslev, encouraged the two very different personalities to play together.

Their career as Scandinavian Guitar Duo seriously took flight when they won 1st prize in Denmark’s Radio’s prestigious Chamber Music Competition in 1993. Although some of the best and most widely recognized chamber ensemble formats – such as the string quartet, the wind quintet and the piano trio – participated in the competition, the duo consistently spellbound both jury and audience with their dynamic and captivating performances, thereby elevating the guitar to the highest ranks of chamber music.

This remarkable event has since been followed up by further exclusive awards. These include the special Segovia Award from the illustrious Leonie Sonning Foundation, an achievement made all the more impressive when one takes into account that this prize (based on a fund donated by the legendary Spanish guitarist Andres Segovia after receiving the Leonie Sonning Music Prize in 1974) was only to be awarded once, and to any instrumentalist, which resulted in a wait for 20 years.

Now an acclaimed ensemble, Scandinavian Guitar Duo have played many concerts in Europe, United States and China. They perform regularly at international festivals, give masterclasses and broadcast on radio and television. They are now both professors at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen.