Sigurd Christian Jag Erland Vogt von Koch (26 April 1910 – 31 January 2009) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. He wrote symphonies, ballets, an opera, and other compositions, including music for film.

Life and career

Born in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

as the son of composer Sigurd von Koch (1879–1919), Erland von Koch studied at the Stockholm Conservatory from 1931 to 1935 and subsequently passed the advanced choirmaster and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

examinations. Between 1936 and 1938, he lived in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in order to pursue studies in

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

with

Paul Höffer Paul Höffer (21 December 1895 – 31 August 1949) was a German composer. He was born in Barmen and died in Berlin. In 1936 he won a gold medal in the art competitions of the Olympic Games for his ''Olympischer Schwur'' (''Olympic Vow'' ...

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duti ...

with

Clemens Krauss Clemens Heinrich Krauss (31 March 189316 May 1954) was an Austrian conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss and Richard Wagner. Krauss was born in Vienna to Clementine Krauss, ...

, and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

with

Claudio Arrau Claudio Arrau León (; February 6, 1903June 9, 1991) was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Bra ...

. Later, he took private classes with

Tor Mann Tor Mann (25 February 1894 – 29 March 1974) was a Sweden, Swedish conducting, conductor. Mann was music director, principal conductor of the Göteborgs Symfoniker from 1925 to 1939, and the Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester from 1939 to 195 ...

in Sweden. Teaching at the Karl Wohlfarts Musikschule from 1939 to 1945, von Koch also spent the final two years of this period working as a sound expert and choirmaster for radio broadcasting. He composed much music for the Swedish film industry. From 1953 to 1975, he was lecturer in

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

at the Stockholm Conservatory,Percy, G. “Leading Swedish Composers of the 20th Century.” In: ''Swedish music – past and present'', special edition of Musikrevy. STIM & Swedish Institute for Cultural Relations Abroad, Stockholm, 1966. where he was appointed a professor in 1968. Von Koch became a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music ( sv, Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. At the time of its foundation, only one of its co-founder was a professional musician, Ferdin ...

in 1957. He has received numerous other honors and prizes at both national and international levels for his compositions. He has written six

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

(of which the fifth, ''Lapponica'', is dedicated to the

Sami people Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

),Portrait: Erland von Koch
twelve Scandinavian Dances, one

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

(''Pelle Svanslös''), and five

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

s, as well as music for

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

. Even in his nineties he composed/studied every day. His works can be described as uncomplicated and his motto was always to "keep the melody".

Selected compositions

Music for the stage

* Opera: ''Pelle Svanslös'' (1948) * Ballet: ''Askungen'' (1961–63)

Film music

* including for

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, Film producer, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known ...

: (

Crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...

A Ship to India ''A Ship Bound for India'' ( sv, Skepp till Indialand) is a 1947 Swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was originally released as ''A Ship to India'' in the United Kingdom and ''Frustration'' in the United States. The screenplay was writ ...

It Rains on Our Love ''It Rains on Our Love'' ( sv, Det regnar på vår kärlek) is a 1946 Swedish drama film directed by Ingmar Bergman from the screenplay written by Herbert Grevenius and Bergman, based on the Norwegian play ''Bra Mennesker'' (''Good People'') by ...

Music in Darkness ''Music in Darkness'' ( sv, Musik i mörker), known in the United States as ''Night Is My Future'', is a 1948 Swedish drama film directed by Ingmar Bergman. The screenplay was written by Bergman and Dagmar Edqvist, whose novel, ''Music In Darkn ...

, Port of Call,

Prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

), as well as

Kvinnan bakom allt ''Four Times Love'' ( sv, Kvinnan bakom allt n Sweden sv, Fyra gånger kärlek n Finland fi, Neljä rakkautta; da, Alt dette og Island med; no, Alt dette – og Island også) is a 1951 co-Nordic film directed by Hampe Faustman and Johan Ja ...

, Den vita katten,

Girl with Hyacinths ''Girl with Hyacinths'' ( sv, Flicka och hyacinter) is a 1950 Swedish drama film written and directed by Hasse Ekman, starring Eva Henning, Ulf Palme, Anders Ek and Birgit Tengroth. It follows a man who investigates the mysterious life of his nei ...

, Dynamit, När ängarna blommar.

Orchestral music

* Ballett-overture for large orchestra (1943, rev 1956) * Nordiskt Capriccio, Op. 26 (1943) * Six symphonies: No. 2 (1945) ''Sinfonia dalecarlia'', No. 4 (1952–53, rev 1963) ''Sinfonia seria'', No. 5 ''Lapponica'' (1977), No. 6 ''Salvare la terra'' (1992) * Viola concerto, Op. 33 (1946, rev 1966) * Sinfonietta, Op. 44 (1949) * Cello concerto (1951, rev 1966) * Oxbergvariationer (1956) * Dance rhapsody (1957) * Piano concertos (1956) * 12 Scandinavian Dances for orchestra (1958) * Saxophone concerto (1958) dedicated to

Sigurd Raschèr Sigurd Manfred Raschèr (pronounced 'Rah-sher') (15 May 190725 February 2001) was an American saxophonist born in Germany. He became an important figure in the development of the 20th century repertoire for the Classical music, classical saxopho ...

* Concerto Lirico for string orchestra (1961) * Impulsi for orchestra (1964) * Guitar Concerto

Chamber music

* Six string quartets * Violin Sonatas (1965), (1975) * Partita Amabile and other works for guitar * Larghetto for viola (or cello) and piano (1937, rev 1966) * Lyrisk episod (Lyrical Episode) for viola and piano, Op. 29 (1944)

Vocal

* Songs

References

External links

Biography from the Swedish Performing Rights Society

Erland von Koch's obituary
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koch, Erland Von 1910 births 2009 deaths 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Royal College of Music, Stockholm alumni Swedish classical composers Swedish male classical composers Swedish film score composers Male film score composers Swedish nobility Swedish people of German descent 20th-century Swedish male musicians 20th-century Swedish musicians 21st-century Swedish male musicians