Karl-Birger Blomdahl (19 October 1916 – 14 June 1968) 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 and conductor born in

Växjö Växjö ( ) is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 70,489 inhabitants (2019) out of a municipal population of 95,995 (2021). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of Kronoberg County ...

. He was educated in

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

, but was primarily active in music and by his experimental compositions he became one of the big names in Swedish

modernism 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 ...

. His teachers included Hilding Rosenberg. He died in

Kungsängen Kungsängen ( en, King’s Meadow) is a locality and the seat of Upplands-Bro Municipality Upplands-Bro Municipality (''Upplands-Bro kommun'') is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Kungs� ...

, Stockholm. His third symphony, ''Facettes'' – a work in one subdivided movementDescription.
/ref> as a twelve-tone variation-form piece – from 1950 is a major contribution to the repertoire. In 1959 he composed the

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 libr ...

Aniara ''Aniara'' ( sv, Aniara : en revy om människan i tid och rum) is a book-length epic science fiction poem written by Swedish Nobel laureate Harry Martinson from 1953 to 1956. It narrates the tragedy of a large passenger spacecraft carrying a ...

'' based on the poem by

Harry Martinson Harry Martinson (6May 190411February 1978) was a Swedish writer, poet and former sailor. In 1949 he was elected into the Swedish Academy. He was awarded a joint Nobel Prize in Literature in 1974 together with fellow Swede Eyvind Johnson "for wr ...

. His output of compositions also includes concertos for violin and viola, a chamber concerto for piano, winds and percussion, at least one other opera (''Herr von Hancken''), and much chamber music, including a trio for clarinet, cello and piano.

Works

Stage

*(1958) ''

'', (libretto by Erik Lindegren based on a poem by

)
Recorded and released by

Columbia Masterworks Columbia Masterworks was a record label started in 1924 by Columbia Records. In 1980, it was separated from the Columbia label and renamed CBS Masterworks. In 1990, it was revived as Sony Classical after its sale to the Sony Corporation. History ...

as a double-album in the mid-60s. An edited version of Aniara was also side 2 of Columbia Masterworks 1968

Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association with ...

– Leonard Bernstein cover-version-album of music from '' 2001: A Space Odyssey''.) It was conducted by Werner Janssen, a noted conductor of the 20th Century. Columbia dropped Janssen's credit from its later releases of the album, leading to a wide but mistaken impression that the performance was conducted by Bernstein. *(1962) '' Herr von Hancken'' (libretto by Erik Lindegren based on a book novel by

Hjalmar Bergman Hjalmar Fredrik Elgérus Bergman (19 September 1883 in Örebro, Sweden – 1 January 1931 in Berlin, Germany) was a Swedish writer and playwright. Biography The son of a banker in Örebro, Bergman briefly studied philosophy at Uppsala Univers ...

) *(1949) ''Agamemnon''

Ballet

*(1954) ''Sisyfos'' *(1957) ''Minotaurus'' *(1962) ''Spel för åtta''

Orchestra

*(1939) ''Symphonic Dances'' *(1943) Symphony No. 1 *(1947) Symphony No. 2 *(1948) ''Pastoralsvit'' *(1950) Symphony No. 3, ''Facetter'' *(1961) ''Forma Ferritonans''

Concerto

*(1941) Concerto for Viola and Orchestra *(1946) Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra'' *(1953) Chamber Concerto for Piano, Winds and Percussion

Choir

*(1951–52) ''I speglarnas sal'' (after a poem by Erik Lindegren)

Film music

*(1953) '' Gycklarnas afton'' *(1965) '' Så börjar livet''

Chamber music

*(1938) Trio for Brass *(1939) String Quartet No. 1 *(1945) Little Suite, for bassoon & piano *(1948) Dance Suite No. 1, for flute, percussion & string trio *(1951) Dance Suite No. 2, for clarinet, cello & percussion *(1955) Trio for clarinet, cello and piano

Songs

*(1966) ''... The Journey in This Night'' for soprano & string orchestra (on a poem by Erik Lindegren)

Electronic

*(1966) ''Altisonans''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blomdahl, Karl-Birger 1916 births 1968 deaths Swedish opera composers Male opera composers Ballet composers People from Växjö KTH Royal Institute of Technology alumni Swedish classical composers Swedish male classical composers 20th-century classical composers Twelve-tone and serial composers 20th-century Swedish male musicians 20th-century Swedish musicians