Album: Nordic Choral Music
Beautifully performed, often folk-inspired works by Mäntyjärvi, Nørgård, Sandström, Rautavaara and others, testament to choral music’s place at the heart of Nordic culture.
BBC Music Magazine, May 2021
Album: Sacred Treasures | Music from Düben Collection
The Academy Chamber Choir of Uppsala and the Uppsala Consort under the direction of Stefan Parkman excel in music by Schütz, Tunder, Buxtehude, Vesi and Quagliati which in its vibrant beauty
conveys the sensation of how all the horrors of the thirty-year war have faded away like morning stars.
Dagens Nyheter, 13.09.2020
Parkman & WDR Radio Choir in Neuss
Stefan Parkman and the WDR Radio Choir combined two of the greatest works of a cappella choral music of the 20th century into a completely convincing musical unit. In Frank Martin's Mass for two four-part choirs five movements from Alfred Schnittke's
Twelve verses of repentance for mixed choir were integrated in alternation [...]. Parkman brought the singing and artistic qualities of his choir to many climaxes.
Rheinische Post, Hansgeorg Marzinkowski, 07.10.2019
Messiah in Mozart version with WDR Radio Choir
Stefan Parkman focussed on the subtle and piano tones, virtuoso but loose lightness and elegance. The few dynamic peaks in the Halleluja and Amen, which Parkman took spectacularly slow in comparison to his otherwise rather speedy tempo turned out instead even more emphasised.
The WDR Choir and WDR Radio Symphony provided a flawless performance in terms of agility, beauty of tone and intonation.
Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, Markus Schwering, 15.12.2015
Successful debut with WDR Radio Choir
Right from the start in his debut concert, Stefan Parkman as chief conductor of the WDR Radio Choir succeeded to set individual accents. He is able to regulate a differentiated and detailed sound shaping and to communicate his own obvious enthusiasm for the matter.
Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, 15.09.2014
Serenade with Jazz with WDR Radio Choir and Big Band
The choir demonstrated that music without Big Band can be very alive. Hallelujah by Robert Sund hazarded a “Spiritual mortale”: the voices snapped in and out and the singers moved strenuously in twisted rhythms (…) Nils Lindberg has written several “night works” for A cappella being first performed, atmospherically dense and modern composed and committedly conducted by Stefan Parkman.
Kölnische Rundschau, Olaf Weiden, 20.06.2016
Nordic programme at Chorbiennale Aachen
The singers of the WDR Radio Choir captivated the audience with a selection of different songs of Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish composers. Homogeneous in all vocal ranges, perfect in intonation, phrasing and articulation: The choir showed its best side especially with songs by Finn Toivo Kuula and the Swedish composers Hakan Parkman and David Wikander. Enthusiastic applause for a brilliant festival opener.
Aachener Zeitung, Pedro Obiera, 02.06.2015
Edlund, Mäntyjärvi, Mendelssohn & Rautavaara with WDR Radio Choir
The audience could convince itself of the highest quality of the WDR Radio Choir by literally lighting lights of heaven - "Himmelslichter". Psalms by Mendelssohn were contrasted to Mäntyjärvi's settings of the same texts, a Gloria by Edlund and the first of Duineser Elegien by Rilke set to music by Rautavaara. Under Parkman's exceptionally suggestive direction the choir reacts in a most sensitive way and creates a sound with addictive potential, dragging the listener into a spiritual world of sounds.
Neue Ruhr Zeitung, Roland Dymke, 29.10.2012