Hugo Alfvén

Born May 1, 1872, in Stockholm; died there on May 8, 1960. Swedish composer and conductor. Studied in Stockholm and then in Germany, France, and Belgium.

From 1903, Alfvén taught composition at the Stockholm Conservatory and from 1910 to 1939 at the music faculty of Uppsala University. He was the conductor of the Orpheo student choir at Uppsala University until 1947. Alfvén was a major representative of modern Scandinavian music. He used folk melodies in his compositions and thus opened a new period in the development of Swedish symphony music. He wrote the ballets The Mountain King (produced in 1923, in Stockholm) and The Prodigal Son (produced in 1957), 12 cantatas, five symphonies, chamber music, and music for plays and films.