Born in Malmö, Sweden on December 24, 1939, Arnold Östman was an acclaimed conductor, educator, and music director. After studying musicology and art history and Lund, Paris and Stockholm and learning to play piano and the harpsichord, he began teaching at the Operahögskolan i Stockholm. He then became the first music director at the Vadstena Academy from 1971 to 1981 and conducted and served as artistic director of the NorrlandsOperan in Umeå between 1974 and 1978. Beginning in 1979, he served as theater and museum director at the Drottningholms Teatermuseum, a position he held until 1992. As a conductor. Arnold Östman focused on the Baroque era with all the music performed on period instruments. He also conducted at many festivals and prestigious opera houses around the world including stages located in London, Vienna, Cologne, Madrid, Paris, Nice, Washington, and many more. He worked with many acclaimed orchestras including the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Geneva Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony, the Philharmoniker Hamburg, and many others. His recorded works include Pettersson: Barfotasånger (1974), Mozart: Così fan tutte (1985), Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro (1988), Mozart: Die Zauberflöte (1993), and Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice (2003). In 2010, Arnold Östman was honored with the Medal from His Majesty the King of Sweden for his contribution to Swedish music. He was also made a Knight of the Legion of Honor in France and elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. Arnold Östman died on August 15, 2023, at the age of 83.
