Lars-Erik Vilner Larsson (15 May 190827 December 1986) 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, conductor, radio producer, and educator. He wrote three of the most popular works (each a suite) in Swedish art music: ''

A Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'' (; 1937–1938), the ''

Pastoral Suite The ''Pastoral Suite'' (in Swedish: ), Op. 19, is a three-movement suite for orchestra written in 1938 by Swedish composer Lars-Erik Larsson. The suite remains not only one of Larsson's most celebrated compositions, but also one of the m ...

'' (; 1938), and ''

God in Disguise ''God in Disguise'' (in Swedish: ; sometimes translated to English as ''A God Disguised'' or ''Disguised God''), Op. 24, is a cantata (officially " lyrical suite") for narrator, soprano, baritone, mixed choir, and orchestra written in 194 ...

'' (; 1940). Other notable works by Larsson include three symphonies, a sinfonietta, and numerous concertante works.

Biography

Larsson was born in

Åkarp Åkarp () is a locality situated in Burlöv Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 5,617 inhabitants in 2010. It is situated approximately 8 km northeast of Malmö and 13 km southwest of Lund. It has a railway station where the Skåne ...

in 1908, the son of a factory worker and a nurse. He studied with Ellberg at the

Stockholm Conservatory The Royal College of Music, Stockholm ( sv, Kungliga Musikhögskolan i Stockholm) is the oldest institution of higher education in music in Sweden, founded in 1771 as the conservatory of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The institution was ma ...

(1925–1929) and with

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

and

Fritz Reuter Fritz Reuter (7 November 1810 – 12 July 1874; born as ''Heinrich Ludwig Christian Friedrich Reuter'') was a novelist from Northern Germany who was a prominent contributor to Low German literature. Early life Fritz Reuter was born at Stavenha ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

(1929–1930), then worked for Swedish Radio and taught at the Stockholm Conservatory (1947–1959) and

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

, where he held the position as

Director musices Director musices, Latin for music director, was a title held by music directors especially at European universities or cathedrals; sometimes also at cathedral schools. The title is still used at universities in Sweden. In Finland it is an honorar ...

(1961–1966). His style as a composer is eclectic, ranging from the late Romantic to techniques derived from

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

's twelve-note system, but original in method. He was the first Swede to write serial music (1932). Yet other works of that period are post- Sibelian or neo-classical, and his output generally is characterized by variety of style. He wrote for the theatre, cinema and broadcasting, in addition to the more traditional forms of symphony, concerto, chamber and vocal music. He died of

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

complications in Helsingborg in 1986, aged 78.

Works

Larsson wrote three of the most popular works in Swedish art music: *''

'' (), Op. 18 (1937–1938), four vignettes to ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'' by

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

*''

'' (), for orchestra, Op. 19 (1938) *''

'' (), a non-religious

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

(officially "lyrical suite") for narrator, soprano, baritone, mixed choir, and orchestra, Op. 24 (1940) Larsson's most important symphonic works are his three symphonies for full orchestra: * Symphony No. 1 in

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Cha ...

, Op. 2 (1927–1928) * Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 17 (1937) * Symphony No. 3 in

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: : ...

, Op. 34 (1944–1945) Larsson also wrote a Sinfonietta for string orchestra and a popular '' Little Serenade''. He wrote a series of '' Twelve Concertinos'' for solo instruments: flute, clarinet, bassoon, oboe, horn, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, double bass, and piano. Larsson's Saxophone Concerto, written for

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 ...

in 1934, is one of the first major works for saxophone to utilize ideas of non-standard tonality. The

Violin Concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

, Op. 42 (1952) is another important work, as is the opera ''

Prinsessan av Cypern ''The Princess of Cyprus'' (in Swedish: ), Op. 9, is an opera in four acts written from 1931 to 1936 by the Swedish composer Lars-Erik Larsson; the Swedish-language libretto is by Finnish author and playwright Zacharias Topelius. The o ...

''.

Sources

HNH Page on LarssonClassical Composers page
*

External links

Larsson Music School
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Larsson, Lars-Erik 1908 births 1986 deaths 20th-century classical composers Litteris et Artibus recipients Swedish opera composers Male opera composers People from Burlöv Municipality Royal College of Music, Stockholm alumni Royal College of Music, Stockholm faculty Swedish classical composers Swedish male classical composers 20th-century Swedish musicians Pupils of Alban Berg Uppsala University faculty 20th-century Swedish male musicians