Gunilla von Bahr

A ubiquitous flutist at the beginning of the digital age thanks to her many LPs and CDs for BIS, Gunilla von Bahr saw her recording career wane after her divorce from Robert von Bahr, who ran that label. Gunilla by no means retired, though; she continued to perform and increased her activities as an educator and music administrator. She began learning the flute at age eight, and by 14, she was playing in an amateur orchestra in Malmö. She studied at the University College of Music in Malmö and then at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, whereupon she spent five years playing in Sweden's various orchestras before going freelance as a soloist. Von Bahr mastered all four varieties of the flute, and although her repertory extended back to the Baroque era, she eventually focused much of her attention on new music, with more than two dozen composers writing music especially for her. In the mid-'70s, she began making recordings for BIS. The eclectic collections issued under the title Sun Flute were especially successful, some selling more than 100,000 copies each. From 1987 to 1990, she was the director of Kronoberg's regional music organization, then served from 1990 to 1995 as director of the Malmö Symphony Orchestra. Von Bahr was the artistic director of the Norrtelje Chamber Music Festival from 1991 to 2000, and founded the Baltic Academy Foundation. In 2000, she became rector of Stockholm's Royal College of Music. She passed away in 2013.