Lars Johan Werle (23 June 1926 – 3 August 2001) 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 ...

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

composer.

Life and career

Werle was born in Gävle, Sweden, and taught himself how to compose, before going on to study musicology at the

University of Uppsala Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

from 1948 to 1950, and then counterpoint with

Sven-Erik Bäck Sven-Erik Bäck (16 September 1919 – 10 January 1994) was a Swedish composer of classical music. He was born in Stockholm. Bäck studied from 1939 until 1943 in the King's Music-Academy and from 1940 until 1945, was a composition student of ...

from 1949 to 1952 He sang in the chorus Bel Canto, was active as a jazz musician, and worked as a producer for Swedish Radio from 1958 to 1970, after which he took a professorship at the National Music Drama School, and then at the Gothenburg Music Academy starting in 1977. Werle was known for his avant-gardist, post- Webernian composition ''Pentagram'' for string quartet that won first prize at the Gaudeamus Festival in

Bilthoven Bilthoven is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Bilt. It has a railway station with connections to Utrecht, Amersfoort and Baarn. It is home to the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health a ...

in 1960. He became known for his vocal and choral music, as well as his operas, such as ''Drömmen om Thérèse'' and "Resan", the latter of which he made with psychedelic rock group Mecki Mark Men. Werle also scored the films of Ingmar Bergman, ''

Persona A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatr ...

'' and ''

Hour of the Wolf ''Hour of the Wolf'' ( sv, Vargtimmen, lit=The Wolf Hour) is a 1968 Swedish psychological horror film directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann. The story explores the disappearance of fictional painter Johan Borg ...

.''

Selected works

Orchestra

* ''Sinfonia da camera'' (1961) * ''Summer Music'' for piano and strings (1965) * ''Zodiac'', ballet score (1966) * ''Vaggsång för jorden (Lullaby for the Earth)'' (1977)

Chamber

* ''Pentagram'' for string quartet (1960)

Vocal

* ''Nattjakt (Night Hunt)'' for soprano and orchestra (1973) * ''Smultronvisa'' for voice, flute and strings (1976)

Opera

* ''Drömmen om Thérèse (Dreaming about Thérèse)'' (1964) * ''Resan (The Journey)'' with Mecki Mark Men (1969) * ''Tintomara'' (1973)

Sources

Obituary in The Independent
*
Work List
1926 births 2001 deaths Swedish composers Swedish male composers Gaudeamus Composition Competition prize-winners People from Gävle Uppsala University alumni Litteris et Artibus recipients 20th-century Swedish male musicians {{Sweden-composer-stub