”I have neverexperienced anything
like it”

Villa Trollhagen in Gråbo to house some
300 people for these concerts. A rare andtouching dedication to serious music.
People like Sophie Lökvik are deeply
missed today. Among the great pianists
who played in Lerum we find such names
as Fou Ts'ong (1968), John Ogdon (1975),
Vladimir Ashkenazy (1976) and Bella
Davidovich (1981).

Martha Argerich playing in the crowded salon.

Great pianists in GråboMadame Sophie Lökvik with John Ogdon.

The Stora Lundby Konsertförening has
arranged concerts since 1955 in Lerum, asmall town close to Gothenburg. Theformer president, the enthusiast and force
behind these series, Sophie Lökvik passed
away some years ago. It was she who letrebuilt her private salon atPeople sitting everywhere
Martha Argerich had just played a concert
in Denmark when she arrived to play theBechstein in the salon of Villa Trollhagen.
Some 350 people came to hear her playsolo. They would sit anywhere andeverywhere to be able to hear her andhopefully to catch a glimpse of thebeautiful young Argentinian and herfamous fingerwork. People I spoke with
who attended the recital still remember it assomething very special.

Some of Argerich's best pieces

Vladimir Ashkenazy and his wife in Gråbo.

Argerich's program was quite short, butwell balanced. It consisted of some of her
best pieces: The Schumann Fantasie Op.17
and, after intervall, the Chopin Préludes

Op.28. But she began her recital with ararity in her concert repertoire. The Mozart
Sonata K.333, a piece she only seems tohave played in recital for a few years in theearly 1970's, to my knowledge in 1973 and1974.

A happy smile after warm reception.
Earlier in 1973, on September 4 to be
exact, Argerich had played both theMozart Sonata and the Chopin Préludes
in the Leith Town Hall during theEdinburgh Festival in Scotland. The
broadcast recording from this concert
amazes with some beutifully nuanced
and very charming Mozart playing,
together with some of her most intense
Chopin readings.
But the audience at Villa Trollhagenexperienced these pieces in the mostintimate atmosphere, with the artist
playing for them in a private salon.

”The large concert halls are notthat important”
Martha Argerich was more than pleased
with her recital in Gråbo. In a shortinterview she expressed her feelings.
”I have never experienced anything like it.
All my nervousness disappeared when I
entered the home of Sophie Lökvik, with its
warmth and family atmosphere. I just sat
down and played… Beeing an artist means
flying from continent to continent giving ofyourself to as many people as possible. And
then, suddenly, you are among people who
really have been longing to hear you andwhat you have to give. When I saw themsitting in the stairs, in the kitchen and inhallways, all was clear to me. The large
concert halls are not that important. There
has to be contact between people inspontanous way!”
Among Argerich's recitals this is without
doubt one of the most exclusive one. Also,
it seems it made a very strong impact on
the artist herself, many years after. Meeting
Argerich in Lugano 2004, and showing her
photos and the program from Gråbo
brought back strong memories to her. She
still remembered warm atmosphere. But
she also remembered the feeling of havingthe audience a bit too close to her. She told
me that she only gave two recitals like thisin her career, the other one in her native
Argentina. What are the odds forsomething like this, in a small country like
Sweden? I wish I would have heard thisrecital. Sadly I wasn't even born in 1973.
Björn ÖstlundCredits
Special thanks to Ingrid Rynefors, Stora
Lundby Konsertförening, for sending me
photos and clippings. All photos andimage material belongs to thephotographer Pelle Molander and Stora
Lundy Konsertförening.