”None of the pieces could have followed Jacob Mühlrad’s Time, which Bohlin described accurately as “symphonic” in nature. The emphasis on color and sophistication of harmony were truly remarkable, especially from such a young composer. The texture varied from thick and rich to light and ethereal. The word “time” is used in 27 different languages throughout the piece, and Mühlrad forces us to acknowledge their differences by alternately highlighting hard and soft consonants throughout. Overall, this performance was a celebration of great progress in the art form of choral performance. In this genre, there is absolutely no substitute for live performance, and the Bay Area is extremely fortunate to have Cappella SF providing us all the rare opportunity to experience it at such an exceptionally high level.”
Alexander Rosenfeld, San Francisco Classical Voice




Awards

 2017 Micael Bindefeld’s Foundation Scholarship in memory of The Holocaust
2017 Rosenborg-Gehrmans’ study scholarship
2018 Special award from Anders Wall Foundation
2018 Nominee for The Swedish Music Publishers’ award
2018  TCO’s Culture Award
2019  Elle Gala Award
2019  Swedish Grammy Award nominee for "Time" album (Deutsche Grammophon)




Discography

Tröstrapporter (2020)
Label: Universal

Time (2021)
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Choir: Swedish Radio Choir Conductor: Fredrik Malmberg & Ragnar Bohlin

Jacob Mühlrad, celebrated Swedish art music composer, born 1991, has rapidly emerged as one of the most recognized composers in Scandinavia and have had his work performed at the biggest venues in Sweden, as well as Carnegie Hall in New York and Bamberg Hall in Germany. Mühlrad has collaborated with soloists such as Martin Fröst and Johannes Rostamo and has also experimented with pop music collaborations, together with artists like the Swedish House Mafia and rap artist Silvana Imam.

An essential aspect of Jacob Mühlrad’s music is a sense of the eternal. He deals with themes of mortality, of the human condition, of tradition, of the holy, but all of these are viewed, so to speak, through the prism of music: the listener is left with the feeling that beauty has made sense out of what often seems incomprehensible or arbitrary. Indeed, the composer has said that he believes music to be connected to the foundations of the universe.

Mühlrad has written extensively for chamber ensembles and orchestras. His choral music is a very distinctive and important element of his work, and through it he has been able to achieve a unique expression of the mystical aspect of Jewish tradition. Anim Zemirot (2013) represented a breakthrough for Jacob, and is now a standard in the repertoire of many outstanding European choirs. His piece Angelus Novus is being presented around the world by Martin Fröst. Kaddish (2017) is a work with a deeply personal connection to the composer. Jacob is a third generation survivor and in his music he tells the story of his grandfather’s survival of The Holocaust. 

The upcoming release Tröstrapporter (Reports of Consolation) is a composition for piano specially commissioned for a theatrical performance at The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, Sweden. The play is written and directed by Alex Schulman,  author and journalist and performed by famous actor Krister Henriksson. The music is co-written and co-produced with jazz pianist Joel Lyssarides.

Mühlrad’s classical repertoire has since 2016 been published by Gehrmans Musikförlag. In 2018 Mühlrad signed up with Universal Publishing for his crossover and pop-cultural projects, Universal Music for piano music and Deutsche Grammophon for his upcoming album “Time”, a selection of Mühlrad’s award-winning choir music containing “Time”, “Kaddish”, “Nigun” and the early work Anim Zemirot sung by the Swedish Radio Choir conducted by Ragnar Bohlin and Fredrik Malmberg. The album will be released in spring 2021. 

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Works

Solo pieces
An Echo of Memories (2015) Piano
Pan (2016) Solo cello
Maggid - (2018) Solo cello

Chamber music
Tsurah (2016) Clarinet, Piano, Violin, Cello
Silent Prayer (2016) Solo bassoon, Violin, Viola, Cello
Kata (2017) Celli, Percussion
The Preacher's Speech (2017) Percussion quartet
Tefila (2020) String sextett

Choir 
Thoughts and Thoughts (2011)
Anim Zemirot (2012)
Anim Zemirot – Female choir (2012)
Anim Zemirot – Reduced version (2012)
Nigun (2014)
Skall inte finnas mer (2016) Choir, Two Violas, Cello and Double Bass 
Dreams (2017)
Shevah (2017)
Kaddish (2017)
Kaddish, short version (2017)
Time (2018)

Orchestra
On the Verge of Eternity (2016)
Angelus Novus (2017)
Einride (2018)
REMS (2019)

Theater music
Tröstrapporter (2019)

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