Maestro Magnus Martensson Takes to the Road for The North American Tour

Sept. 22, 2009 - PRLog -- Maestro Magnus Martensson, the Swedish comedian and musician who combines classical music and humor is back with a new twist that combines comedy with classical music. Martensson will perform his own brand of music and comedy as the 2009-2010 North American Tour of “Excuse me, does my piano count as one carry-on?” kicks off on September 18 in Minnesota and continues through November 15, with stops in North Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Michigan, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

This season’s performances will include music by Franz Liszt, Edvard Grieg, Philip Glass, as well as a one-man piano/violin rendition of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, coupled with some old-fashioned fun and silliness, guaranteed to bring light-heartedness and laughter to all who those who attend.  

Some of Martensson’s past performances have included hilarious skits such as performing Rhapsody in Blue while munching Cracker Jack and gradually donning a baseball uniform and even managing to bat a few pitches tossed at him in mid-piece. He’s also been known to play the piano and the violin at the same time, peck at the keys with a pointy false nose, or tickle the ivories with one hand while wearing a boxing glove on the other and sparring with an audience member.

As a young boy growing up in Sweden, Martensson attended a concert given by Danish pianist-comedian Victor Borge and was instantly mesmerized.  The classically trained Borge was a genius at spoofing the high-brow conventions of the concert hall with his quips and keyboard antics and "I became a huge big fan of his," recalls Martensson, now a freelance conductor and pianist who leads the Scandinavian Chamber Orchestra of New York.

Martensson managed to see Borge perform a few more times before he passed away in 2000 and in 2003, he was asked to perform a short tribute to Borge as part of a concert at the Victor Borge Hall at New York City's Scandinavia House. The occasion was the 150th anniversary of Steinway pianos and Martensson performed a piano bit that Borge used to do, mixing Moonlight Sonata with Happy Birthday. Borge's daughter, who was in the audience, was impressed and encouraged him to continue writing his entertaining and comedic skits. Since then, he has continued to develop his own brand of serious classical music and old-fashioned silliness, evoking a great deal of laughter from his audiences all over the country.

For more information about performance dates, locations and ticket purchase visit www.maestromartensson.com or call 917-405-6254.  

BIOGRAPHY
Quite by accident, in 2003, Swedish born conductor Magnus Martensson turned into a comedian/pianist during a concert at Victor Borge Hall in New York City, in front of an enthusiastic and encouraging audience that included members of Mr. Borge’s family. Since then, Mr. Martensson has appeared in Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas, Chicago, Minneapolis, Buffalo, Fargo, and Arthur, and critics have called his act both “hilarious” and “clever.”
Mr. Martensson wrote comedy as a young man, combining it with music and performing at school concerts. He presented a series of private Comedy&Music concerts in Cleveland during the 1990s, but has since been busy working as a conductor, narrowing down his comedy time to Scherzo movements in symphonies. After receiving encouraging words from the daughter of late comedian/pianist Victor Borge, Mr.Martensson decided to be funny again and has since been performing his comedy routine, combining it with conducting and multi instrumental musical performances.
Mr.Martensson is currently Music Director of the Scandinavian Chamber Orchestra of New York, and has guest conducted in Europe and South America. He has premiered over 70 works, and has recorded for the Mode, Centaur, and Mindfeel labels. An active composer, Mr. Martensson’s commissions have included orchestral and chamber music, songs, and solo works. His one act opera Before the Law, based on Kafka’s work, premiered in Buffalo in 1997, while in 2004 he conducted his Kvasir for Strings at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

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