Oscar Fredrik Bernadotte Byström (13 October 1821 – 22 July 1909) 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 def ...

and scholar. Born in Stockholm into the family of a military officer, he followed his father in a military career and rose to the rank of captain by 1857. However, already in the 1840s he gained recognition as both a pianist and song composer, and by late 1850 Byström was active as a teacher. In 1866 he was appointed inspector of the Swedish Royal Academy of Music, succeeding August Berwald. He became a professor at the Academy in 1872, and also worked for several years as conductor of the orchestral society of

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

. Byström's first published work appeared in 1871: ''Allmän musiklära, till skolornas tjenst'', intended for schools. After his return to Stockholm from Turku, he devoted himself to studying church music. He traveled to

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Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Solesmes,

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and

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to this end, and upon his return to Stockholm, Byström started organizing regular performances of liturgical music by

Orlando di Lasso Orlando di Lasso ( various other names; probably – 14 June 1594) was a composer of the late Renaissance. The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with William Byrd, Giovanni Pierlui ...

and

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (between 3 February 1525 and 2 February 1526 – 2 February 1594) was an Italian composer of late Renaissance music. The central representative of the Roman School, with Orlande de Lassus and Tomás Luis de V ...

. In 1899 he published a collection of church hymns and related music, ''Sequenser, antifoner och hymnen'', and planned a chorale book. He died in Stockholm. His compositions are few in number and show the influence of

Franz Berwald Franz Adolf Berwald (23 July 1796 – 3 April 1868) was a Swedish Romantic composer and violinist. He made his living as an orthopedist and later as the manager of a saw mill and glass factory, and became more appreciated as a composer after ...

, who was a personal friend. His Symphony in D minor (1870–72) is commonly cited as one of his best works.

Selected works

* Piano Trio in E-flat major (1850) * Overture in D minor (c. 1850) * Cello Duo (1851) * Three Waltzes for orchestra (1851) * Overture in D major (mid-1850s) * String Quartet No. 1 ''Quartetto svedese'' in C minor (1856, rev. 1895) * String Quartet No. 2 in D major (mid-1860s; published posthumously in 1937) * Symphony in D minor (1870–72, rev. 1895) * Fantasia ''över två finska visor'' (1872) * Operetta ''Herman Vimpel'' (1873) * Andantino for orchestra, in D minor (1876) * Opera ''Cervantes'' (unfinished)

References

External links

* IMSLP - Oscar Byström
Swedish Musical Heritage - Oscar Byström
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bystrom, Oscar 1821 births 1909 deaths Swedish male composers Musicians from Stockholm 19th-century Swedish male musicians 19th-century Swedish composers