Henrik Lörstad is a Swedish composer working across film, television, and theatre. He is known for combining classical craftsmanship with a contemporary, emotionally restrained sound. A graduate of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in Stockholm, Lörstad has developed a distinctive musical voice that supports psychological depth and narrative nuance rather than overt dramatization.
Lörstad has collaborated extensively with director Johan Brisinger, composing music for commercials as well as feature films such as as Suddenly and Among us, starring Michael Nyqvist and Izabella Scorupco. These drama productions, marked by inner conflict and moral ambiguity, place his music in a tradition reminiscent of Scandinavian psychological cinema, with subtle echoes of Ingmar Bergman.
His work in television includes composing the score forWallander: The Pyramid as well as Cell 8, based on the crime novels by Roslund & Hellström. In these productions, Lörstad demonstrates a particular strength in merging classical orchestration with dark, modern textures, creating atmospheres that heighten tension without overpowering the storytelling.
Parallel to his dramatic work, Lörstad has enjoyed major success composing music for beloved children’s characters such as Bamse and Mamma Moo, directed by Christian Ryltenius. His orchestral scores capture both playfulness and emotional sincerity, resonating with children while offering narrative depth for adult audiences. Bamse is currently the most widely seen Swedish animated film franchise to date, distributed in over 50 countries.
The music for the Bamse films has been recorded by the leading Swedish symphony orchestras and has also been performed live-to-picture in concert halls — a rare format for Swedish feature films. Since 2017, Bamse and the Witch’s Daughter has been presented in this format, making it one of the few non-silent Swedish films to receive orchestral live screenings. The most recent film, Bamse and the secret of the sea (released Christmas 2025), already has similar concerts scheduled for 2026, including a fully sold-out week with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.
Among his recent works, Who Are You, Mamma Moo? was nominated for Best Original Score at the Swedish Guldbagge Awards 2024 and for the Nordic Film Composers Award 2025, further establishing Lörstad as a distinctive voice within Scandinavian film music.
Henrik Lörstad graduated from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in Stockholm in the 1990s, but his musical roots lie in the punk scene of the 1970s — a tension between structure and rebellion that continues to shape his sound. Born in 1964 in Lund and raised in Italy, he draws on a broad cultural background, blending Nordic minimalism with expressive melody and cinematic storytelling. He is currently based in Stockholm.