Lindberg was born in Danderyd. As a youth, he learned to play the trumpet, and subsequently began to learn the trombone at age 16. He originally borrowed a trombone to join his friends' Dixieland jazz group, inspired by records of Jack Teagarden. He attended the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, where his teachers included Sven-Erik Eriksson. By age 18, he had obtained a professional position in the Royal Swedish Opera Orchestra. At age 20, he left his orchestral career behind to study to become a full-time soloist. He studied with John Iveson at the Royal College of Music (1979–1980) and with Ralph Sauer and Roger Bobo in Los Angeles (1983).^[3]

In 1981, Lindberg won the Nordic Soloists' Biennale competition. His concert debut was in 1984 with the Trombone Concerto by Henri Tomasi. That same year, he signed a 3-CD recording contract with BIS Records. His first solo recording was "The Virtuoso Trombone". Lindberg has recorded over 60 albums, for BIS^[4] and several other labels.^[5] His musical collaborators in Sweden have included pianist Roland Pöntinen and composer Jan Sandström.

Lindberg is noted for his performances of contemporary music, as well as expanding the repertoire of concerti for trombone. In 2006, he estimated that over the prior 25 years, composers wrote 82 works for him.^[6] On 7 September 2017, Lindberg gave his 100th trombone concerto premiere.^[7] Lindberg was the soloist in the premiere of Sandström's Motorbike Concerto. In addition to the Sandström, his repertoire includes Luciano Berio's Sequenza V, Fredrik Högberg's The Ballad of Kit Bones and Su ba do be.

Lindberg began to compose in the 1990s at the encouragement of Sandström. Lindberg's first-performed work was Arabenne for trombone and strings, recorded in 1997. Other compositions have included Mandrake in the Corner, Chick 'a' bone Checkout, from 2006 and written for Charles Vernon of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra,^[6] and Kundraan (2008).^[8]

Lindberg developed his own design of trombone F attachment valve rotor, which he patented in 1999 in collaboration with instrument manufacturer C.G. Conn. It features shallower curvature and only a 45° turn, for a more open-blowing valve register than a regular rotary valve.^[9] Conn produce a line of instruments built with this valve, which they market as the "CL2000".^[10]

In 2000, Lindberg made his conducting debut with the Northern Sinfonia in the UK. He has regularly conducted the Nordic Chamber Orchestra (chief conductor, 2004–2011) and the Swedish Wind Ensemble (2005–2012).^[11] He was principal conductor of the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra, and was contracted to the orchestra until 2018.^[12] From 2016 to 2021, Lindberg was conductor and music director at the Israel Netanya Kibbutz Orchestra.^[13]

In 2011 Lindberg and the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra initiated the Allan Pettersson Project, the purpose of which is to record and issue all of Pettersson's symphonies on CD.^[14][15] The project was completed in 2023.^[16]

Lindberg lives in Stockholm with his wife and four children.^[17] His elder brother is the lutenist Jakob Lindberg.^[18]

• 1991 International Trombone Association Award
• 2004 Litteris et Artibus
• 2016 'Artist of the Year' at the International Classical Music Awards^[19]

• Christian Lindberg's official website
• BIS Records biography of Lindberg
• Edition Tarrodi, publisher of Lindberg's compositions and arrangements
• Christian Lindberg interview by Bruce Duffie
• Christopher Thomas, MusicWeb International interview with Christian Lindberg, 8 May 2008
• Discography of Classical Trombone CDs