Their early recordings of Cantus gemellus by
Dieter Acker and the fiercely demanding one-hour-long cycle for two violins (1951) by
Allan Pettersson showed the true potentials of the violin duo, inspiring many composers to turn to this medium. Characteristic for Duo Gelland's work with new music is the close collaboration with composers and the search for an individual world of sounds for each new composition approached. Duo Gelland received over 300 dedications, among them duos by: Giorgio Netti,
Bernd Franke,
Samuel Adler,
Hans-Joachim Hespos,
Daniel Asia,
Alexander Keuk,
Reiko Füting,
Madeleine Isaksson,
Birgitte Alsted,
Jörgen Dafgård,
Kerstin Jeppsson, Ingvar Karkoff, Maurice Karkoff, Olov Franzén,
Gunnar Bucht, Carin Bartosch Edström,
Rolf Martinsson,
Sunleif Rasmussen, Erika Förare,
Miklós Maros, Mikael Forsman, Thomas Liljeholm, Maria Lithell, Ylva Bentancor, Marsel Nichan, Sanna Ahvenjärvi, Tapio Lappalainen, Gerhard Samuel, Joey Crane, Sam Krahn, Joshua Musikantow, Tiffany M. Skidmore,
Saman Samadi,
Britta Byström, Johan Ramström, Paula af Malmborg Ward,
Marie Samuelsson, Peter Schuback,
Victoria Bond, Anders Hultqvist, Peter Lindroth, Hans Parent, Max Käck, Cecilia Franke,
Harri Wessman, Gunnar Valkare, Fredrik Hagstedt, ,
Nikolaus Brass,
Farangis Nurulla–Khoja, Francisco Corthey, Michael Fiday, Chi-Yen Huang, Jay Afrisando, James Falzone, Andreas F. Staffel, Ulrika Emanuelsson, Krister Hansén, Aron Hitman, Johan Samskog, Nicaela Coté, Simon Christensen, Leo Correia de Verdier, Ivo Nilsson, Justin Henry Rubin, Gunnar Valkare, Tomas Winter, Joshua Wat. Duo Gelland also premiered duos by other composers – never performed due to lack of permanent violin duos – by
Werner Wolf Glaser,
Gunnar Berg, Hans Holewa, Erika Förare, Oleg Gotskosik,
Ture Rangström. Further important duos belonging to their repertory are those by
Luigi Nono,
James Dillon,
Olga Neuwirth,
Giacinto Scelsi,
Roman Haubenstock-Ramati,
Jacqueline Fontyn. Duo Gelland's performance of Traumwerk by James Dillon was filmed by Johan Ramström. It was awarded the
Jahrespreis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik 2008. Another award is the Interpreter’s Prize of the Society of Swedish Composers (FST). The inscription reads:
They take on the new music with an overwhelming empathy and a virtually feverish intensity, catching the audience in a bubble of absolute presence. Duo Gelland received dedications of works for violin duo and orchestra or ensemble by
Harold Blumenfeld (premiered 1996),
Ingvar Karkoff (premiered 2009), Alexander Keuk (premiered 2013), Olov Franzén (premiered 2014), Olof Lindgren (premiered 2002). Håkan Larsson (premiered 2002). January 2003 Duo Gelland premiered Håkan Larsson's Angesicht in Angesicht – inspired by
Ingmar Bergman's films – for violin duo and orchestra in the Berliner Philharmonie with a festival orchestra. Spring 2003 two works for violin duo and choir by Hans-Erik Dahlgren and Olof Lindgren were premiered together with
Dresdner Kammerchor and
Hans-Christoph Rademann. With the same choir and conductor they gave the first performance of
Zu Unserer Zeit Sprechen by
Samuel Adler in Dresden Frauenkirche in remembrance of the November pogrome 80 years. In Berliner Philharmonie 2006 together with the
RIAS Kammerchor and Hans-Christoph Rademann, Duo Gelland premiered works for violin duo and choir by
Sunleif Rasmussen, Peter Schuback and Håkan Larsson. In 2023 Duo Gelland premiered two new double concertos by Cecilia Franke and Jörgen Dafgård. In 2024 they gave the first performance of Giga by
Reiko Füting with Mitteldeutsche Kammerphilharmonie under Jan Michael Horstmann. Duo Gelland's style of interpretation was described in the German encyclopedia MGG: "Statt einer speziellen ästhetischen Ausrichtung geht es dem Duo Gelland um die Realisierung des jeweiligen speziellen Klangvorrats und der individuellen Klanglichkeit der einzelnen Komposition." The dramatic and physical qualities of Duo Gelland's stage presence has been cultivated in cross over productions e.g. in provocatively moving The donkey on Mars, text Kasëm Trebeshina (Albania), in collaboration with choreographer Britta Hanssen and composer Birgitte Alsted. Here the synthesis of emotion, motion, word and sound is explored in a mode which could be referred to as violin theater. The encyclopedia Die Violine comments their achievements: "It shows how a chamber music genre that is perceived as marginal can be developed into a new, fruitful blossoming under the prerequisite of serious artistic engagement." Duo Gelland's growing historic repertory involves research in archives and libraries. The musicologist Ulrich Mazurowicz points out that the second half of the 18th century into the beginning of the 19th century was a period when string duos were printed more often than any other constellation including songs, operas, string quartets, music for orchestra or piano. Of all these string duos the major part was violin duos. Duo Gelland's work with historic music can be exemplified by their recording of Antonio Vivaldi's Sonatas for two violins. Ken Meltzer: "The artists pursue an HIP approach, with a lean, transparent sonority that avoids vibrato, fleet tempos in the outer movements, and ornamentation. The Duo Gelland performs these works in brilliant fashion, with razor-sharp articulation and a profound, constant sense of interaction." Duo Gelland's continuous study of historic literature on music performance, theory and philosophy is a source of inspiration facing both their old and their new repertoire. As artists in residence 2002 – 2011 in the municipality of
Strömsund,
Jämtland, northern Sweden, Duo Gelland developed their interactive and mutually artistically stimulating work with children and teens referred to as The Strömsund method. They continually visit a great number of classrooms meeting children and young people from toddlers to college students, with an emphasis on pupils in mandatory school. Their work has been observed for the purpose of research in the US, Germany and Sweden. Constanze Rora explains: "They primarily play contemporary works from their repertoire and talk to the children and young people about the music. Through further interactive elements such as collaborative improvisation, instant composing, and painting to music, they succeed in opening them up to a dialogue with and about music." Cecilia Gelland says: "An unimaginably high degree of mastery of complex thinking, feeling, and creating is demanded of us in our society, even just in order to uphold democracy... Music offers a forum for highly complex experiences." Martin Gelland writes: "I would describe the fantasy world as a parallel world, a world we create ourselves, one we can influence and shape." Erkki Huovinen concludes: "It is shown how the Gellands create musical contexts in which children’s vulnerabilities can be safely exposed and transformed. At the same time, the musicians see children’s engagement as proving the social value of the music. In providing a neutralising arena for children’s sometimes frightening and violent realities, the Gellands demonstrate a model for 'health musicianship', challenging sharp distinctions between artistic, pedagogical and therapeutic realms." Cecilia Gelland studied violin and chamber music with
Harald Thedéen, Sven Karpe, Josef Grünfarb,
Pierre d'Archambeau, Machie Oguri-Kudo,
Walter Levin and each one of the other members of the
LaSalle Quartet,
Kurt Sassmannshaus,
Ingeborg Scheerer and with
Allen Sapp also music theory and composition. Martin Gelland studied violin and chamber music with
Max Rostal,
Ricardo Odnoposoff, Gerhart Hetzel, and for shorter periods
Valery Klimov,
Wolfgang Schneiderhan and Franco Gulli. From the age of eleven he studied the piano with Anna Stadler. ==Discography==