Hugo Alfvén

Hugo Emil Alfvén ( pronunciation: [ ˌ ː hʉ gʊ alve ː n], born May 1, 1872 in Stockholm, † May 8, 1960 in Falun ) was a Swedish composer and conductor.

Life

After Alfvén had studied from 1887 to 1891 at the Stockholm Conservatory, he continued his studies in the fields of violin and composition continued private. In addition, he was from 1890 to 1892 violinist at the court chapel and entered after soloist. 1897 and 1898 he received additional violin lessons with César Thomson in Brussels. In the following years he was able to travel through Europe and continue his studies there, thanks to a scholarship.

Since his youth, Alfvén held with his family in the summer often in the Stockholm archipelago. Alfvén was a passionate sailor. The sea and the archipelago became important themes of his musical works: the Piano Pieces Skärgårdsbilder, the symphonic poem En Skärgårdssägen, the Symphony No. 4 Från Havsbandet. In the Symphony No. 2, the sea and sailing in the Symbolist sense images for life and death.

In 1902 he had met in Sicily Marie Krøyer, the wife of the Danish painter Peder Severin Krøyer, whom he married in 1912. The marriage failed and was divorced after a lengthy process in 1936.

In the years 1903 and 1904 he was a teacher of composition at the Stockholm Conservatory temporarily. He also traveled as a guest conductor with many European countries. As a conductor Alfvén led mainly on his own works. From 1910 worked Alfvén as musical director at the University of Uppsala. A post he retained until 1939. To be able to recover from his professional efforts to Alfvén and Marie Krøyer built in Tällberg on Siljanssee, Dalarna, a summer house in dalekarlischen style. During his numerous stays in Dalarna a deep relationship with this Swedish landscape, which was understood in National Romanticism as a " hotbed of Swedish folk culture " emerged.

Even as a choral conductor, he was very active, both in Uppsala ( Orphei Drängar ) and in Dalarna, where he took over the management of the Siljanschores. For the Siljanschor Alfven arranged Swedish folk songs and wrote new compositions with echoes of the Swedish folk music. With two choirs took Alfvén successful tours also abroad (eg Norway, USA). After the divorce of Marie Krøyer married Alfvén 1936 Karin Wessberg to which he dedicated, among other things, the famous elegy of his music to the historical drama Vi about Gustav II Adolf. Since Alfvén had to give up his house in Tällberg during the separation of Marie Krøyer, he built himself with collected by the Swedish public donations a new house in Tibble at Leksand on Dalälv. This house is now a museum.

Alfvén, who was regarded as a Swedish national composer, has received many awards; he received, among other things, in 1917 an honorary doctorate from the University of Uppsala and in 1908 a member of the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm. In addition to his musical talent Alfvén had a great talent as a painter. As a youth he had trained as a painter. Get numerous watercolors landscapes, individual portraits and self-portraits. In addition, Hugo Alfvén was a gifted storyteller: He himself published his memoirs in four volumes, which tell in liquid style of his many travels and adventures.

Style

In his home to Alfvén made ​​V.A. through its inspired by the Swedish folk compositions like his choral works or his most famous work, the " Midsommarvaka " op.19, a name. With his symphonies Alfvén made ​​indeed a remarkable contribution to the Swedish symphonic music, but has established itself difficult as Symphony in Sweden. Especially his Fourth Symphony ( Från Havsbandet ) was probably more appreciated because of their pronounced German influenced late-Romantic language abroad than at home. In these works, but the folk music does not play a decisive role ( with the exception of Symphony No. 3, which originated in Italy and in the slow movement wistful memories of the Swedish home resound ). In addition, numerous works were written as an opportunity to work jubilees and other festivities that were associated among other things with the Alfvén function as Director Musices Uppsala University.

Alfvén was a brilliant engineer who mastered masterful compositional finesse as counterpoint. He had a brilliant instrumentation; especially the highly differentiated timbres of his orchestral works are more than impressive. Here he shows on the one hand by the late French Romanticism ( Alfvén stayed to study in Belgium and Paris) and on the other hand influenced by Richard Strauss, a composer, he was stylistically very close anyway. Overall Alfvén together with Wilhelm Stenhammar and Wilhelm Peterson -Berger of the most prominent exponent of Swedish late Romantic period. His works are qualitatively outstanding; However, let his inspiration in later years significantly. Alfvén is one of the most important figures of the Swedish music history.

Works

• Orchestral works Symphony No.1 in F minor op.7 (1896 /97 rev. 1904)
• Symphony No.2 in D major op.11 (1897 /98)
• Symphony No.3 in E major op.23 (1905 )
• Symphony No.4 in C minor, op.39 " Från Havsbandet " ( From the outermost archipelago ) for soprano, tenor and orchestra (1918 /19)
• Symphony No.5 in A minor, op.54 (1942, 1952 /53)
• "En skärgårdssägen " ( An archipelago Sage), tone poem op.20 (1904 )
• " Midsommarvaka " ( Midsummer Guard), Swedish Rhapsody No.1 op.19 (1903 )
• " Uppsalarapsodi " Swedish Rhapsody No.2 op.24 (1907 )
• " Dalarapsodi " Swedish Rhapsody No.3 op.48 (1937 )

• Stage Works " Bergakungen " (The Mountain King ), ballet op.37 ( 1916-23 )
• " The förlorade persons " ( The Prodigal Son ), Ballet (1957 )

• Vocal music 9 cantatas for soloists, chorus and orchestra
• Choirs, for example, " Dawn on the Sea" (1933 )
• About 60 folksong arrangements for choir
• About 50 songs

• Piano and Chamber Music " Skärgårdsbilder " ( images of the archipelago ), 3 Piano Pieces op.17 ( 1901/ 02)
• Nocturne C-sharp major for piano (1911 )
• "Il primo amore ", waltz for piano (1937 )
• Violin Sonata op.1 (1895 )