Hugo Alfvén

Hugo Emil Alfvén was born on May 1, 1872, in Stockholm. Studying violin and composition at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Stockholm, his early travels to the Stockholm archipelago inspired his evocative symphonic tone poem A Legend of the Skerries (En skärgårdssägen).

In 1903, Alfvén composed his masterpiece Midsommervaka (Midsummer Vigil, Swedish Rhapsody No. 1), an orchestral explosion of folk melodies and peasant fiddle tunes that became Sweden's most famous orchestral piece worldwide. As Director Musices at Uppsala University from 1910 to 1939 and conductor of the legendary male-voice choir Orphei Drängar (OD), he transformed Swedish choral singing into an international cultural treasure.