Alfvén

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Hugo Emil Alfvén (May 1, 1872 – May 8, 1960) was a Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter. Alfvén became known as one of Sweden's principal composers, together with Wilhelm Stenhammar. Alfvén's music is in a late-Romantic idiom. His orchestration is skillful and colorful, reminiscent of that of Richard Strauss. Like Strauss, Alfvén wrote a considerable amount of programmatic music. Some of Alfvén's music evokes the landscape of Sweden. Among his works are a large number of pieces for male voice choir, five symphonies and three orchestral "Swedish Rhapsodies." The first of these rhapsodies, Midsommarvaka is his best known piece. Alfvén's five symphonies, the first four of them now several-times recorded (with another cycle in progress), give a picture of the composer's musical progress. The first, his opus 7 from 1897, is an early F minor work, tuneful in a standard four movements. The second (1898-9), his opus 11 (and in a way his graduation piece, as interestingly recounted [1]) in D major concludes with a substantial, even powerful chorale-prelude and fugue in D minor. The third symphony (1905) opus 23 in E major, also in four movements, more mature in technique though light in manner was inspired by a trip to Italy. The fourth symphony in C minor of 1918-9 - opus 39, From the Outermost Skerries (there is also a tone-poem, A Legend of the Skerries) — is a symphony in one forty-five minute movement using wordless voices, inspired by Carl Nielsen's Sinfonia Es

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