Anders Johan Ture Rangström (30 November 1884 – 11 May 1947) belonged to a new generation of Swedish composers who, in the first decade of the 20th century, introduced

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

to their compositions. In addition to composing, Rangström was also a musical

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

and conductor.

Biography

Rangström was born 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 ...

, where in his late teens he started to write songs. His music teacher suggested that he should "vary the harmonies a bit more, make it a bit wilder!" He followed this advice and soon gained the nickname among his colleagues of " Sturm-und-Drangström".Jacobsson, Stig (1996). "Ture Rangström – Symphony No. 2, Intermezzo drammatico". cpo 999 368-2 (CD pooklet): 10–14. He travelled to Berlin where he studied under

Hans Pfitzner Hans Erich Pfitzner (5 May 1869 – 22 May 1949) was a German composer, conductor and polemicist who was a self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera ''Palestrina'' (1917), loosely based on the life of the ...

for a while in 1905–6, and also studied singing with the Wagnerian Julius Hey, with whom he later went to Munich for further studies. His compositions at this time were chiefly for voice and piano. Between 1907 and 1922 he taught singing and from 1922 to 1925 he was principal conductor of the

Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (GSO; ) is a Swedish symphony orchestra based in Gothenburg. The GSO is resident at the Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen. The orchestra received the title of the National Orchestra of Sweden () in 1997. Ba ...

. He founded the Swedish Society of Composers in 1918, and he was employed to promote the works of the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...

from 1931 to 1936. After this he worked

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

and spent the summers on the island of Törnsholmen which he had been given by the people of Sweden who raised the money to celebrate his fiftieth birthday. Rangström died at his home in Stockholm after a long illness caused by a throat disease; his funeral was held at Stockholm's Maria Magdalena Church and he is buried in the churchyard at , Valdemarsvik Municipality,

Östergötland County Östergötland County () is a county or '' län'' in southeastern Sweden. It has land borders with the counties of Kalmar to the southeast, Jönköping to the southwest, Örebro to the northwest, and Södermanland to the northeast. It also has a ...

, southeast Sweden. He was grandfather of a playwright, also named (born in 1944) the artistic director of Strindbergs Intima Teater (since its re-opening in 2003), and uncle of author Lars Gyllensten.

Works

Many of his early works took the form of

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ( ...

s, including ''Dityramb'' (Dithyramb) (1909), an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility; the term was also used as an epithet of the god, ''Ett midsommarstycke'' (A midsummer piece) and ''En höstsång'' (An autumn song). Following the success of these poems, Rangström began work on his symphonies, of which there are four. The first, produced in 1914, is dedicated to the memory of

Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 play ...

– ''August Strindberg in memoriam''; the second, from 1919, is entitled ''Mitt land'' (My country); the third from 1929, ''Sång under stjärnorna'' (Song under the stars), and the fourth from 1936, ''Invocatio'', for orchestra and organ. He composed three

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s, entitled ''Kronbruden'' (The Crown Bride), based on a play by Strindberg, which was first performed in 1915, ''Medeltida'' (Medieval), published in 1921, and ''Gilgamesj'', based on the Mesopotamian ''

Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic from ancient Mesopotamia. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian language, Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh (formerly read as Sumerian "Bilgames"), king of Uruk, some of ...

'', written during the last years of his life. The orchestration of ''Gilgamesj'' was completed by the composer John Fernström, and it was premièred in November 1952 at the

with Erik Saedén in the title role and Herbert Sandberg conducting. Rangström also wrote almost 300 songs and orchestrated about 60 of them.

Orchestral

* ''Dithyramb'', symphonic poem, 1909 (revised by Kurt Atterberg, 1948) * ''Ett midsommarstycke'', symphonic poem, 1910 * ''En höstsång'', symphonic poem, 1911 * ''Havet sjunger'', symphonic poem, 1913 * Symphony no. 1 in C-sharp minor, ''

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

in memoriam'', 1914 * ''Intermezzo drammatico'', suite, 1916–18 * ''Divertimento elegiaco'', suite for string orchestra, 1918 * Två melodier, clarinet and strings, 1919 * Symphony no. 2 in D minor, ''Mitt land'', 1919 * ''Två svenska folkmelodier'', 1928 * Symphony no. 3 in D flat ''Sång under stjärnorna'', 1929 * Partita for violin and orchestra in B minor, 1933 * Symphony no. 4 in D minor ''Invocatio'', 1935 * Ballade for piano and orchestra, 1937 * ''Vauxhall'', suite 1937 * ''Staden spelar'', divertissement, 1940

Chamber music

* String quartet in G minor, ''Ein Nachtstück in ETA Hoffmanns Manier'', 1909 (rev. Edvin Kallstenius and Kurt Atterberg 1948) * ''Suite in modo antico'', violin and piano, 1912 * ''Suite in modo barocco'', violin and piano, 1920–22

Piano

* Fyra preludier, 1910–13 * ''Mälarlegender'', 1919 * ''Sommarskyar'', 1916–20 * ''Improvisata'', 1927 * Sonatin, 1937 * ''Spelmansvår'', suite, 1943

References

Sources *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rangstrom, Ture 1884 births 1947 deaths 20th-century Swedish male musicians 20th-century Swedish composers Swedish male opera composers Modernist composers Musicians from Stockholm Swedish classical composers Swedish opera composers