# Obscure Swedish composers



## matsoljare (Jul 28, 2008)

Alright, i'm wondering how many of you have heard of, or anything by, these composers. Some of them used to be considered influential in certain circles once upon a time, but they're forgotten by almost everyone now and there's hardly any recordings available.

Bengt Hambraeus
Sten Broman
Arne Mellnäs
Jan W. Morthenson
Bo Nilsson
Sven-Erik Bäck
Ingvar Lidholm
Rolf Martinsson
Lars Sandberg
Henrik Strindberg
Anders Eliasson
Hilding Rosenberg
Anders Hillborg
Einar Englund


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

Well... I did mention Ingvar Lidholm a little while ago, in this post. I have his 3-movement "Music for Strings." If it weren't for *BIS*, I'm sure I wouldn't even have that much. Unfortunately, the remaining composers on your list are still unknown to me.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I have a Naxos recording of two Einar Englund symphonies and a piano concerto, so I suppose I have heard of him. I'm afraid I don't remember anything at all about the works, however. This is a sad side effect of having too much music available.  

The others are unknown to me.


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## Guest (Aug 7, 2008)

I have a Naxos recording of Symphony no. 2 in G minor op 43 and Excelsior op 13 by Wilhem Stenhammar (1871-1927) sent to me by a Swedish friend a number of years ago. He siad this was a well known Swedish composer. I must say though that I find the music unremarkable.


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Einar Englund is Finnish, not Swedish. He is a Swedish-speaking Finn.

Not mentioned here, (but should be mentioned) is Ture Rangström (1884-1947). He wrote music in an astere (some might severe), late-Romantic style with blocky, solid orchestration and soaring melodies.

Sibelius once said that Rangström was "head and shoulders" above any other Swedish composers of his time.


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## orquesta tipica (Jan 17, 2007)

Tapkaara said:


> Einar Englund is Finnish, not Swedish. He is a Swedish-speaking Finn.


Maybe he was part of the Swedish minority who live in Finland? But I guess that would still make him Finnish, if that's the country he identified most with.


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Finland was a part of the Swedish kingdom for about 650 years. Swedish was the language of the aristocracy and Finnish was the language of peasants.

Even though Finland is an independant nation today, the Swedish language remains...it is actually an official language of the country. I believe only about 4-5% of Finns today speak Swedish.

Einar Englund was a Finnish national, but his first language was Swedish. Sibelius also fits this profile...his family were Swedish speaking Finns.


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## Benny (Feb 4, 2013)

Forgot Wilhelm Peterson-Berger? - Indeed, in Sweden he's not so obscure, but for the rest of the world he is!!

Here his beautiful (and probably best known) piece, Summer Song:





(Performance is not perfect, but better than many others; orchestral version not recommended).


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

matsoljare said:


> Alright, i'm wondering how many of you have heard of, or anything by, these composers. Some of them used to be considered influential in certain circles once upon a time, but they're forgotten by almost everyone now and there's hardly any recordings available.
> 
> Bengt Hambraeus
> Sten Broman
> ...


Rosenberg and Lidholm (plus Finnish Englund) have been better served by recordings in recent years, and there´s now also a good deal on you-t.

Some other Swedish, lesser-known names:

- Nathanael Berg (late-romantic orchestral music)
- Adolf Wiklund (2 great, late-romantic piano concertos)
- Gunnar de Frumerie (good concerti etc.)
- John Fernström. An upcoming name with a partly Chinese background. Symphonies, concerti, string quartets etc.
- Emil Sjögren: great chamber music, piano works and songs.
- Dag Wiren: mainly known for his orchestral music, including symphonies.

- Edwin Kallstenius, Adolf Hägg, Ludvig Norman: there´s a nice album with their cello sonatas, for instance.
- Daniel Börtz. Most of his symphonies await recordings; they are ambitious works.
- Sven-David Sandström, Matthias Hammerth: good album with their piano concertos. Sandström wrote a lot of quite easily accessible vocal works too.
- Hans Holewa. Great piano concerto. Awaits recordings in general.

And of course Alfvén, Atterberg and Pettersson, more established now.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Tapkaara said:


> Einar Englund was a Finnish national, but his first language was Swedish. Sibelius also fits this profile...his family were Swedish speaking Finns.


But he was born (two miles up the road from me) and died in Sweden (Ljugarn on the pearl of the Baltic Sea; Gotland!)... EE was a complicated case, that we usually count as a Finn! 

/ptr


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

Don't forget Lars-Erik Larsson.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

joen_cph said:


> - John Fernström. An upcoming name with a partly Chinese background. Symphonies, concerti, string quartets etc.


The only thing Chinese with Fernström was his birth place (Yichang in Hubei), his parents where Swedish Missionaries forcing their belief system on the Chinese pagans... :devil:



joen_cph said:


> - Dag Wiren: mainly known for his orchestral music, including symphonies.


I think that Wirén is subliminally well know by an older generation in the UK, BBC used the 'Marcia' form his Serenade as theme music to the series "*Monitor*" that ran from 1956 to 1965.






Here are a few other Swede's that deserves to get some more attention:

- Gösta Nystroem
- Björn Johansson
- Göte Carlid
- Jan Carlstedt
- Claude Loyola Allgén
- Sten Broman
- Hans Eklund
- Harald Fryklöf
- Tommie Haglund
- Hilding Hallnäs
- Sten Hanson
- Algot Haquinius
- Thomas Jennefelt
- Sven-Eric Johanson
- Johannes Johansson
- Bengt Emil Johnson
- Gunilla Lowenstein
- Anders Nilsson
- Torsten Nilsson
- Ludvig Norman
- Folke Rabe
- Yngve Sköld
- Lille Bror Söderlundh
- Klas Torstensson
- Gunnar Valkare
- Karl-Erik Welin
- Lars Johan Werle

Some of these are Obscure in the real sense of the recording word, ie. there are no commercial recordings of their works! 

/ptr


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## cjvinthechair (Aug 6, 2012)

Eliasson died in late May this year, which may prompt some 'retrospective' recordings.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

John Fernström did use Chinese inspiration in his music though, such as the Chinese Rhapsody for orchestra , 



and the Ni-Si-Pleng ballet.
There´s a website dedicated to him, http://www.fernstromonthe.net/john/html/eng/e_opus.html, the Swedish pages being more comprehensive.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

joen_cph said:


> John Fernström did use Chinese inspiration in his music though, such as the Chinese Rhapsody for orchestra ,
> 
> 
> 
> and the Ni-Si-Pleng ballet.


Indeed, I believe both works where inspired by songs Fernström's Chinese Nanny sang to him, is about 15 years since I read his autobiography, so my memory is a bit vague... 

/ptr


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

ptr said:


> - Lars Johan Werle
> 
> Some of these are Obscure in the real sense of the recording word, ie. there are no commercial recordings of their works!
> 
> /ptr


Hi, ptr - there's Werle's _Nautical Preludes_, which I have in a 2-CD collection of choral music.

It's even on YT:


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

cjvinthechair said:


> Eliasson died in late May this year, which may prompt some 'retrospective' recordings.


I hadn't realized this!

This is sad.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Prodromides said:


> Hi, ptr - there's Werle's _Nautical Preludes_, which I have in a 2-CD collection of choral music..


Werle is one of those that just borders on Obscure , I have about seven or eight of his works on different CD's, mostly choral works, in Sweden tho, he's mostly known for the musical/opera "Animalen" (1979) and for scoring two Bergman films, Persona & Vargtimmen (Hour of the Wolf).

/ptr


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## BaronAlstromer (Apr 13, 2013)

Are all these composers really considered obscure?
All most all of our most well known composers have been mentioned in this thread.


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## TresPicos (Mar 21, 2009)

Sometimes it feels like all Swedish composers are obscure - even here in Sweden...


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

BaronAlstromer said:


> Are all these composers really considered obscure?
> All most all of our most well known composers have been mentioned in this thread.


Outside Sweden most of them known only to a very specialist audience, so on the whole obscurity comes with the territory of being a small nation that yet has to find it's superstar, that Denmark has in Nielsen or Finland in Sibelius!

/ptr


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## BaronAlstromer (Apr 13, 2013)

How big are our nordic composers in the world of classical music?


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

BaronAlstromer said:


> How big are our nordic composers in the world of classical music?


We have some hefty fighters in the league, Grieg being the most famous, then Sibelius close up there, and Nielsen. No Swedish composer can quite compete with those 3 in critical acclaim and fame.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

BaronAlstromer said:


> How big are our nordic composers in the world of classical music?


On the imaginary top 100..?

I'm sure that the only few present are, Grieg (below 50), Sibelius and Nielsen (above 50), can think of very few Swede's that would qualify, Wilhelm Stenhammar and perhaps Allan Pettersson might well be the one's closest to enter the list, but I'd love to be persuaded I'm wrong in this assumption. Swede's love to tell everyone that J.M. Kraus was a Swede despite the fact that he was German!

/ptr


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## BaronAlstromer (Apr 13, 2013)

So not even Alfvén and Berwald

I think Kraus considered himself a swede after he moved here.


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## TrevBus (Jun 6, 2013)

ptr said:


> On the imaginary top 100..?
> 
> I'm sure that the only few present are, Grieg (below 50), Sibelius and Nielsen (above 50), can think of very few Swede's that would qualify, Wilhelm Stenhammar and perhaps Allan Pettersson might well be the one's closest to enter the list, but I'd love to be persuaded I'm wrong in this assumption. Swede's love to tell everyone that J.M. Kraus was a Swede despite the fact that he was German!
> 
> /ptr


I would include Kurt Atterberg. That Cello Concerto is special. However, that may just be me.


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## TrevBus (Jun 6, 2013)

I really don't know how obscure any of these are I am listing but as far as recordings are concern,there seems to be very few. Most of these are on Sterling and Musica Sveciae(Phone Suecia), usually just 1 recording of each.

Josef Jonsson-- Phono Suecia PSCD 720

Gustaf Bengtsson--Sterling CDS-1008-2

August Soderman--CDS-1040-2(Fairly well know for his Church Music)

Otto Olsson-- Sterling CDS-1020-2(also known for Church and orgon Music. However, on this disc his only Symphony for Orcrestra. Some 58 mins long.

Oskar Lindberg--Sterling CDS-1015-2.(I think he is well known in his native country. I have the only cds(2) that I think have been recorded.)

Maurice Karkoff--Swedish Sociiety--SCD- 1023 and Phona Suecia PSCD 108

Elfrida Andree--Sterling CDS-1016-2. One the few Swedish Women composers at that time.

Albert Rubenson--Sterling-CDS-1029-2

Torbjorn Iwan Lundquist--Bluebell-ABCD 072

Bo Linde--Bis-CD-621

Hope I didn't repeat any.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

BaronAlstromer said:


> So not even Alfvén and Berwald


Don't think so, maybe on an imaginary top 200, I would not mind if You prove me wrong! :tiphat:



> I think Kraus considered himself a swede after he moved here.


I haven't read any evidence for this, where did You get it from? I belive that it is a moniker posterity has awarded him, he had some mild succes with the King of the time (Gustav III) and later returned to be hovkapellmästare (Kapellmeister of the Court orchestra), but he died in poverty the same year as the King and WAM.. I really don't think that Kraus thought of himself as anything other then a Bayrer or Sohn des Miltenberg, the fact that he, like most composers of the period went to the place where they could earn a living did not change their nationality!

I know that there are a volume of Kraus written Letters published, I have not read them, but until someone tells me that in this letter to X, Kraus calls himself Swede I'll keep to my doctrine... 

/ptr


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

TrevBus said:


> I really don't know how obscure any of these are I am listing but as far as recordings are concern,there seems to be very few. Most of these are on Sterling and Musica Sveciae(Phone Suecia), usually just 1 recording of each.


Good list! I think most Swedish Composers are "Obscure" to a general international audience, but so I believe are non top-tier composers from most countries!?

The more important it is for us who find the music of one or other Obscure composer compelling, to talk (loudly) about our finds! It is not about replacing the war-horses, just need to dilute the mud slightly...

/ptr


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## BaronAlstromer (Apr 13, 2013)

ptr said:


> Don't think so, maybe on an imaginary top 200, I would not mind if You prove me wrong! :tiphat:


I´m only here to learn. I´m a newbie in the world of classical music. 
About Kraus I have read it in a couple of books (don´t remember any titles), perhaps it was just in the authors mind he was a swede?
I will now have to go to my library and order that book with letters.


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