Lars Karlsson was born in 1953 on Åland, the archipelago in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland, but has lived for a long time in Helsinki, where he studied at the Sibelius Academy. Besides composition he also studied the piano, and he often takes part in performances of his own music with other musicians.
His work list includes all genres from chamber music and solo works to orchestral works. He has also composed quite extensively for voices, most notably in works such as the oratorio Ludus Latrunculorum to texts by Valdemar Nyman and the opera Rödhamn (Redhaven) to a libretto by Lars Huldén. Among his principal choral works are Three Motets for mixed choir and Jaguaren (The Jaguar) for male choir and ensemble.
Other works to be mentioned include his Violin Concerto from 1991–93, which received an acclaimed performance by John Storgårds as soloist with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leif Segerstam in 2007. Lars Karlsson has also enjoyed a long collaboration with Storgårds as a conductor, resulting in the first performances of Karlsson’s two symphonies with the Oulu Symphony Orchestra, as well as that of Rödhamn at the Finnish National Opera in 2002.
Among his more recent works are the opera-oratorio Scenes from the Finnish War, composed to a libretto by Lars Huldén for the bicentennial of the 1809 Treaty of Fredrikshamn, and Koralmetamorfoser for flute, viola and harp (2010). His latest composition is Sonata da Camera for double bass and piano.
