Hugo Emil Alfvén (Swedish: [alˈveːn]; 1 May 1872 – 8 May 1960) was a Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter. He was one of Sweden's most important composers. His piece "Swedish Rhapsody," written when he was 31, remains one of the most well-known works in Swedish music. After traveling widely in Europe to improve his musical skills, Alfvén taught composition and later led choirs and orchestras. In 1954, he created the first stereo recordings of classical music in Sweden. Hugo Alfvén’s large collection of musical works is kept at Uppsala University, where he served as music director for 29 years.

Career

Alfvén was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He studied at the Royal College of Music (Kungliga Musikhögskolan) from 1887 to 1891, with the violin as his main instrument. He took lessons from Lars Zetterquist and also had private composition lessons from Johan Lindegren, who was an expert in counterpoint. During this time, he played the violin at the Royal Opera in Stockholm from 1890 to 1892.

From 1897 to 1907, Alfvén traveled across Europe. He studied violin technique in Brussels with César Thomson and learned conducting in Dresden with Hermann Ludwig Kutzschbach. In 1903 and 1904, he was a professor of composition at the Royal Conservatory in Stockholm. From 1910 to 1939, he served as Director musices (music director) at the University of Uppsala. At the same university, he directed the male voice choir Orphei Drängar (or "O.D.") until 1947. He conducted at festivals in Uppsala (1911), Dortmund (1912), Stuttgart (1913), Gothenburg (1915), and Copenhagen (1918–1919). He conducted in Europe throughout his life. In 1917, he received an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University. In 1908, he became a member of the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm. In late 1954, he recorded some of his orchestral music in stereo (the first classical stereo recordings made in Sweden). These recordings were released on LP in the United States by Westminster Records. A three-CD collection of Alfvén's recordings as a conductor has also been released.

Music

Alfvén was one of Sweden's most important composers during his time, along with his contemporary Wilhelm Stenhammar. His music follows a late Romantic style. His orchestration is detailed and rich in color, similar to that of Richard Strauss. Like Strauss, Alfvén composed many pieces of program music, which tell stories or describe scenes. Some of his music reflects the natural beauty of Sweden.

Among his works are many songs for male voice choirs, five symphonies, and three orchestral pieces called "Swedish Rhapsodies." The first of these, Midsommarvaka, is his most famous work.

Alfvén's five symphonies show his musical growth over time. The first symphony, in F minor, composed in 1897 as his Op. 7, is an early work with four standard movements. The second symphony, in D major (1898–99), his Op. 11, ends with a powerful chorale-prelude and fugue in D minor, which some consider his graduation piece. The third symphony, in E major (1905), his Op. 23, has four movements and was inspired by a trip to Italy. The fourth symphony, in C minor (1918–19), titled From the Outermost Skerries, is a single forty-five-minute movement using wordless voices, influenced by Carl Nielsen's Sinfonia Espansiva. The fifth symphony, in A minor, begun in 1942, is one of his final works and has been recorded only twice in full.

Naxos Records and BIS Records, among others, have collections or individual recordings of all his symphonies and other works. Brilliant Classics has re-issued a 5-CD set from BIS that includes his symphonies and other orchestral pieces.

The first rhapsody, Swedish Rhapsody No. 1 (also called Midsommarvaka or Midsummer Vigil), was written in 1903. It is often simply called the "Swedish Rhapsody" and is one of the most well-known pieces of music in Sweden.

Painter and writer

Alfvén made important contributions in many areas, including painting and writing. He was a skilled painter who used watercolors and once considered giving up his other work to focus only on painting. He was also a talented writer. His four-volume autobiography is described as "captivating" and offers important information about the musical life of Sweden, where Alfvén was an important person for more than 50 years.

Personal life

Alfvén was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 1, 1872. He was married three times. His first marriage, from 1912 to 1936, was to Marie Triepcke, a Danish painter born in 1867 and died in 1940. Marie had previously been married to Peder Severin Krøyer, a painter born in 1851 and died in 1909. After his divorce from Marie in 1936, Alfvén married Carin Wessberg, born in 1891 and died in 1956. They were married from 1936 to 1956. In 1959, he married Anna Lund, born in 1891 and died in 1990. Alfvén died on May 8, 1960, in Falun, Sweden, just after his 88th birthday.

His daughter, Margita Alfvén, became a film star during the silent era. His nephew, Hannes Alfvén, received the 1970 Nobel Prize in Physics.

List of musical works

When Hugo Alfvén passed away, his collection of musical works was given to the University of Uppsala. Jan Olof Rudén was then assigned the task of organizing Alfvén's music, which included sorting through 214 compositions. These works were officially recorded and given opus numbers, totaling 54 compositions. Each piece was also assigned a Rudén number and an opus number, helping to classify the music based on additional details. Some documents remain unnumbered and lack dates or opus/Rudén numbers.

In the following list, some opus numbers may include more than one title. Opus number 48 was never used or found.

• Opus 7 | Rudén 24: Symphony No. 1 in F minor (composed in 1897)
• st movement: Grave – Allegro con brio
• nd movement: Andante
• rd movement: Allegro, molto scherzando
• th movement: Allegro, ma non troppo

• Opus 11 | Rudén 28: Symphony No. 2 in D major (composed in 1899) (Mainz 1901)
• st movement: Moderato
• nd movement: Andante
• rd movement: Allegro
• th movement: Fugue, Allegro energico

• Opus 19 | Rudén 45: Swedish Rhapsody No. 1, Midsommarvaka (completed in 1903) (Copenhagen 1908)

• Opus 20 | Rudén 49: Symphonic poem, En skärgardssägen (first performed 1905) (Stockholm 1921)

• Opus 23 | Rudén 54: Symphony No. 3 in E major (completed in 1905)
• st movement: Allegro con brio
• nd movement: Andante
• rd movement: Presto
• th movement: Allegro con brio

• Opus 24 | Rudén 58: Swedish Rhapsody No. 2, Uppsalarapsodi (composed in 1907) (Stockholm 1907)

• Opus 25 | Rudén 59: Festspel for theatre (composed in 1907) (Stockholm 1908)

• Opus 26 | Rudén 67: Fest-Ouverture (composed in 1909)

• Opus 27 | Rudén 62: Drapa (composed in 1908)

• Opus 37 | Rudén 99: Bergakungen (The Mountain King), ballet-pantomime (composed in 1916–1923) (Stockholm 1923)

• Opus 38 | Rudén 92: Elégie (at Emil Sjögren's Funeral)

• Opus 39 | Rudén 93: Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Från havsbandet (From the Outskirts of the Archipelago) (completed in 1919) (Vienna 1922)
• st movement: Moderato – Allegretto, ma non troppo
• nd movement: Allegro – Moderato – Allegro
• rd movement: Lento – Maestoso – Molto appassionato
• th movement: Allegro agitato

• Opus 42 | Rudén 109: Hjalmar Brantings Sorgmarsch

• Opus 47 | Rudén 120: Swedish Rhapsody No. 3, Dalarapsodi (completed in 1931)

• Opus 49 | Rudén 121: Elegy (from Gustav II Adolf)

• Opus 52 | Rudén 201: Festival Overture

• Opus 50 | Synnöve Solbakken, Suite from the film music, after Norwegian melodies (1934)

• Opus 53 | En Bygdesaga (A Country Tale), Suite from music for the film Mans Kvinna (1944)

• Opus 54 | Rudén 209: Symphony No. 5 in A minor
• st movement: Lento – Allegro non troppo
• nd movement: Andante
• rd movement: Lento – Allegro – Presto molto agitato
• th movement: Finale: Allegro con brio

• Rudén 214: The Prodigal Son, ballet suite

• Opus 13 | Rudén 33: The Bells, baritone and orchestra

• Opus 15 | Rudén 39: The Lord's Prayer, chorus, soloists, orchestra

• Opus 30 | Rudén 76: Ballade, baritone, male chorus and orchestra

• Opus 33 | Rudén 83: Baltic Exhibition Cantata (1914)

• Opus 40 | Rudén 98: Ode on Gustavus Vasa, soli, mixed voices, orchestra

• Opus 12 | Rudén: Vid sekelskiftet (At the Turn of the Century)

• Opus 31 | Rudén: Uppenbarelsekantaten (Revelation Cantata)

• Opus 36 | Rudén: Kantat vid Reformationsfesten i Uppsala 1917 (Cantata for the 1917 Reformation Festivities in Uppsala)

• Opus 45 | Rudén: Kantat vid Uppsala Universitets 450-årsjubileum (Cantata for the 450th Anniversary of Uppsala University)

• Opus 1 | Rudén 12: Sonata for violin and piano in C minor

• Opus 3 | Rudén 21: Romance, violin and piano

• Opus 5 | Rudén 25: Notturno Elegiaco, horn and

In popular culture

The character "Karsten From" in the novel De Dødes Rige (The Kingdom of the Dead) by Danish author Henrik Pontoppidan is likely inspired by Hugo Alfvén.