Kurt Atterberg facts for kids
Kurt Magnus Atterberg (born December 12, 1887 – died February 15, 1974) was a Swedish composer and engineer. He is famous for writing many symphonies, operas, and ballets.
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A Look at Atterberg's Life
Kurt Atterberg was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. His father, Anders Johan Atterberg, was an engineer. His uncle, Albert Atterberg, was a chemist. Kurt's mother, Elvira Uddman, was the daughter of a well-known opera singer.
In 1902, Kurt started learning to play the cello. He was inspired after hearing a concert that featured Beethoven's String Quartet No. 8. Six years later, he joined the Stockholm Concert Society as a performer. This group is now called the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. Around this time, he also published his first completed music piece, the Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra.
Kurt Atterberg was already studying electrical engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology. In 1910, he also began studying at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm. He studied how to compose and arrange music under the composer Andreas Hallén. He earned his engineering degree a year later. He also received a special music scholarship from the state. In 1912, he conducted his first concert in Gothenburg. He presented his first symphony and another piece called Concert Overture.
Even though he kept composing and conducting, Atterberg also had a successful career in other areas. In 1912, he started working at the Swedish Patent and Registration Office. He later became a head of department in 1936. He worked there until he retired in 1968.
One of Atterberg's biggest achievements was winning the 1928 International Columbia Graphophone Competition. This competition was held to celebrate 100 years since Franz Schubert's death. Atterberg's Sixth Symphony was chosen as the winning piece out of 500 entries. It was performed all over the world by famous conductors like Thomas Beecham and Arturo Toscanini.
Kurt Atterberg passed away on February 15, 1974, in Stockholm. He was 86 years old. He was buried in the Northern Cemetery there.
Discussions About Atterberg's Connections
Before and during the time of Nazi Germany, Atterberg worked with German composers and music groups. His goal was to make musical ties between Sweden and Germany stronger. He sometimes conducted his own music with famous orchestras in Germany. Many famous conductors also performed his symphonies. Atterberg often shared his German contacts with other Swedish musicians. He also worked to have Swedish music played in Germany. For example, he helped Albert Henneberg work with Fritz Tutenberg.
Some of Atterberg's letters and words showed negative views towards Jewish people. This was especially clear in arguments he had with the composer Moses Pergament. Pergament was a music critic for a newspaper called Svenska Dagbladet. The disagreements between the composers were about their very different ideas on music. Atterberg believed in romantic music that showed national identity. Pergament, however, preferred a more modern style of music.
After World War II ended, some people accused Atterberg of supporting the Nazis. At his request, the Royal Academy of Music started an investigation. The investigation could not fully prove or disprove these suspicions. However, after the war, Atterberg seemed to be less accepted by some of his fellow Swedish composers.
Atterberg as an Organizer and Critic
In 1918, Atterberg helped start the Society of Swedish Composers. He worked with other important composers like Ture Rangström and Hugo Alfvén. Six years later, he became the president of this society. He held this position until 1947. Around the same time, he also became president of the Svenska Tonsättares Internationella Musikbyrå. He helped create this organization too, and was its president until 1943. Atterberg also worked as a music critic for the Stockholms Tidningen newspaper from 1919 to 1957. From 1940 to 1953, he was the secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.
Atterberg's Musical Style
Atterberg composed music in a romantic style. His music can be compared to other Nordic nationalist composers like Edvard Grieg and Jean Sibelius. Atterberg himself said that Brahms, Reger, and several Russian composers influenced him. These included Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov.
How Atterberg is Remembered
Kurt Atterberg is considered one of the most important composers of the second group of Swedish late romantics. He continued the musical traditions started by composers like Wilhelm Stenhammar and Hugo Alfvén. He believed that romantic music should show and strengthen a country's identity. Others thought modern music should be more international. While his five operas are not performed much today, his nine symphonies are being heard more often. Many recordings of his symphonies have been made.
Atterberg's Compositions
Atterberg wrote nine symphonies. If you include his Symphony for Strings, Op. 53, he wrote ten. His Ninth Symphony, called Sinfonia Visionaria, included an orchestra, a choir, and singers, just like Beethoven's Ninth. He also wrote six concertante works, which are pieces for a solo instrument and orchestra. These include his Rhapsody and a cello concerto. He composed nine orchestral suites, three string quartets, a Sonata in B minor, five operas, and two ballets.
For the 100th anniversary of Franz Schubert's death in 1928, the Columbia Graphophone Company held a worldwide symphony competition. Composers were asked to write a symphony that finished or was inspired by Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony. Atterberg entered his Symphony No. 6 in C major. He won first prize and $10,000! This symphony later became known as the "Dollar Symphony." Sir Thomas Beecham recorded it. Arturo Toscanini also performed the symphony in 1943 during an NBC Symphony Orchestra radio concert. Atterberg was very happy when he heard the recorded performance.
In 2005, CPO Records released a full collection of Atterberg's symphonies. This set also included a symphonic poem called Älven – Från Fjällen till Havet (The River – From the Mountains to the Sea). The music was performed by orchestras from Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt. They were all conducted by Finnish conductor Ari Rasilainen. Between 2013 and 2016, a second complete set of his symphonies was recorded. The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra performed them under the direction of Neeme Järvi. These recordings were released on the Chandos label.
Atterberg's Family Life
Atterberg was married two times. His first marriage was to Ella Peterson, a pianist, in 1915. They divorced eight years later. His second marriage was to Margareta Dalsjö in 1925. They were married until she passed away in 1962.
See also
In Spanish: Kurt Atterberg para niños
