Karl ''Helmer'' Alexandersson (16 November 1886 – 24 December 1927), 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 ...

and

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist. He was the brother of the actress

Karin Alexandersson Karin may refer to: *Karin (given name), a feminine name Fiction * ''Karin'' (manga) or ''Chibi Vampire'', a Japanese media franchise *Karin Hanazono, title character of the manga and anime ''Kamichama Karin'' *Karin Kurosaki, a character in ''Bl ...

Biography

Alexandersson was born in Stockholm, where he attended the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

before studying the violin under Johan Lindberg, counterpoint under Johan Lindegren, and instrumentation under Jean Paul Ertel in Berlin. His musical career had a promising beginning: he received several scholarships, and he was commissioned to write the official march of the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in Stockholm 1912. His second symphony, premièred by

George Schnéevoigt George Schnéevoigt (born Fritz Ernst Georg Fischer; 23 December 1893 – 6 February 1961) was a Danish film director, cinematographer, and actor of the 1910s to early 1940s. Schnéevoigt was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 23 December 1893 t ...

in 1919, was a success. After writing orchestral music for several

films he devoted more of his time to writing music for

silent films A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, whe ...

, and he played in person, along with, among others,

Hilding Rosenberg Hilding Constantin Rosenberg (June 21, 1892 – May 18, 1985)Lyne Peter H. Rosenberg, Hilding (Constantin). In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan, London & New York, 1997. was a Swedish composer and conductor. He is commonly reg ...

in the orchestra pit at the Red Mill cinema in Stockholm. He died in poverty in 1927, and the funeral was funded by the city.

Compositions

;Film music *

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

– '' Herr Arnes pengar'' *

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

– " Gunnar Hedes saga" *

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...

– ''

Ingmarsarvet ''Ingmar's Inheritance'' (Swedish: ''Ingmarsarvet'') is a 1925 Swedish silent drama film directed by Gustaf Molander and starring Lars Hanson, Conrad Veidt and John Ekman.Hjort & Lindqvist p.253 It was shot at the Råsunda Studios in Stockholm ...

'' ;Arrangement *

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

– " Värmlänningarna" ;Orchestral Music *

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

– ''

Overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overt ...

in C Minor'' *

– ''Symphony No. 2 in G Minor''

Recordings

*''Overture, Symphony No. 2'', Uppsala Kammarorkester, conducted by

Paul Mägi Paul Mägi (born 13 October 1953) is an Estonian conductor in concert and opera and is also an academic teacher and violinist. He has commissioned works for the Estonian National Opera. Life and music Born in Tallinn (then Soviet Union), Mägi ...

, Sterling 2008.

References

External links

Helmer Alexandersson
at SFDb
Recension i Arkivmusic.com
1886 births 1927 deaths 20th-century classical composers Swedish male classical composers Male film score composers Male classical violinists Musicians from Stockholm Romantic composers Royal College of Music, Stockholm alumni Swedish classical composers Swedish classical violinists Swedish film score composers 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century Swedish male musicians 20th-century Swedish musicians {{Sweden-composer-stub