Full Issue

hen Jussi Björling was suddenly taken from us on 9 September 1960, there was intense dismay and great sorrow, for he was one of the greatest singers of our time, a fact to which an enormous and always enraptured public bore witness.His audiences were to be found not only in the opera houses and concert halls of the world's great cities, but also in Swedish amusement parks and in front of hundreds of thousands of radio sets.He was humble before the art of music and, in the truth and meticulousness of his work, a true artist, something to which his colleagues and friends from many opera stages have willingly attested.On many occasions, the heavy demands which he made on himself, and which the public made on him, caused complications, but these can be seen as reflections of a vulnerable artistic character and a fragile human being.He was a good-hearted and kind man, without pretensions or conceit, as his many friends, as well as people who only occasionally came in contact with him, have emphasized.He was, in many respects, an unusual man, both complicated and uncomplicated." 1 Bertil Hagman, Press Officer / Program Editor, Royal Opera, Stockholm "I still cannot comprehend the fact that my friend Jussi is gone.For me personally, it is a very hard blow.Thirty years of working together and friendship is a long time… At the time of his death, Jussi Björling stood, without doubt, at the summit of the development of his rich artistry, with deepened feeling and maturity, with a singular brilliance and warmth in his voice and a perfect technique.He played in such a masterly and beautiful way upon his voice, as a Kreisler did on his violin, or a Casals on his cello.During all of my nearly fifty-year-long career as a musician I have never heard anything so wonderful, the infinite beauty of tone, his ability to nuance and phrase." Nils Grevillius, conductor "I know of few singers who have possessed such a natural talent as Jussi Björling.The voice's singular beauty and lyrical charm, the natural and musical phrasing, his extraordinary memory, and his thorough musicality -all of these formed the foundation Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK No.