Conductor Arnold Östman died in Stockholm yesterday at the age of 83. Born in Malmö, he studied art history and musicology at Lund, Paris and Stockholm. He focused on the subject of early opera, bringing to light a number of theretofore unknown or little-known baroque operas.
Östman was artistic director and conductor of the Vadstena Academy from 1971 until 1981, while also serving as conductor and artistic director of the NorrlandsOperan in Umeå from 1974 until 1978.
He became artistic director of the Drottningholm Palace Theatre in 1980 and remained there until 1992.
His Drottningholm period performances are legendary. In particular, productions of Mozart operas with period instruments caused a considerable stir in the early days of the historical-performance movement.
Outside Sweden, Östman has conducted a wide range of repertoire at various opera houses and with numerous important orchestras.
