Åke Olof Sebastian Uddén (18 August 1903 – 28 April 1987) was a Swedish

violist The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the v ...

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 def ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

and music educator. Uddén was born in Lossa (now Låssa),

Upplands-Bro Municipality Upplands-Bro Municipality () is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Kungsängen. The municipality was formed in 1952 through the amalgamation of five rural municipalities in Uppsala Coun ...

, Stockholm County. He studied in Stockholm with Henrik Melcher Melchers and Julius Ruthström, and subsequently from 1926 to 1928 with Georges Caussade and

Charles Tournemire Charles Arnould Tournemire (22 January 1870 – 3 or 4 November 1939) was a French composer and organist, notable partly for his improvisations, which were often rooted in the music of Gregorian chant. His compositions include eight symphon ...

at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

. Uddén played viola in the

Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra () is a Swedish radio orchestra based in Stockholm, affiliated with Sveriges Radio (Sweden's Radio). Its principal performing venue is the Berwaldhallen (Berwald Hall). The orchestra broadcasts concerts on th ...

from 1943 until 1956. He was a teacher of counterpoint at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

from 1934 to 1970, and was also conductor of the Stockholm Academic Orchestra (1955–1985). One of his pupils was composer

Hans Eklund Hans Patrik Eklund (born 16 April 1969) is a Swedish football manager, and former football player. In his active career, Eklund played seven games for the Sweden men's national football team and was the 1992 Allsvenskan top scorer. Club car ...

. His limited output, influenced by French music, includes a number of orchestral, vocal and chamber music works, among them a string trio written during his studies in Paris, and two string quartets.Grove, "Åke Uddén", 19:308. He died in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Selected works

;Orchestral * ''Nocturne'' * ''Vår'' (Spring) for chamber orchestra * ''Menuett'' (1932) * ''Saraband'' * ''Gavotte'' (1935) * ''Lustspels-Uvertyr'' (Comic Overture) (1935, revised 1950) * ''Introitus academicus'' (1971) ;Chamber music * String Trio (1928) * Sonata in D major for flute and viola, Op.2 (1931) * ''Duo "Småprat"'' (Small Talk) for 2 violas (1933) * Sonatina for viola solo, Op. 3 (1933, revised 1986) * String Quartet No. 1 (1940) * String Quartet No. 2 (1956) ;Vocal * ''Är jag intill döden trött'' (I Am Tired unto Death) for voice and chamber orchestra (1930); words by Harriet Löwenhjelm * ''En gammal vårvisa'' (An Old Spring Song) for 3 female voices and piano (1939) * ''Midsommarvisa: Folkvisa från Västmanland'' (Folk Tune from

Västmanland Västmanland ( or ) is a historical Swedish province, or , in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland. Västmanland means "West Man Land" or, less literally, "The Land of the Western Men", where the "we ...

) for 3 female voices and piano (1939) * ''Tre sånger ur Chansons de Bilitis'' (3 Songs from Chansons de Bilitis) for voice and piano (1941–1945); words by

Pierre Louÿs Pierre-Félix Louÿs (; 10 December 1870 – 4 June 1925) was a Belgian poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who sought to "express pagan sensuality with stylistic perf ...

* ''Nocturne'' for tenor and piano (1946)

Sources

* Lönn, Anders, "Åke Uddén", in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', 20 vols., ed. Stanley Sadie, London: Macmillan, 1980. .
Swedish Music Information Centre: Åke Uddén biography

References

External links

Åke Uddén at the Swedish Music Information Centre
1903 births 1987 deaths 20th-century Swedish classical composers People from Upplands-Bro Municipality Musicians from Stockholm County Academic staff of the Royal College of Music, Stockholm Swedish male classical composers Swedish classical violists Swedish music educators Swedish male conductors (music) 20th-century Swedish conductors (music) 20th-century Swedish male musicians 20th-century violists {{Sweden-composer-stub