Valborg Aulin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Laura Valborg Aulin
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Laura Valborg Aulin
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| Born | January 9, 1860 |
| Died | January 11, 1928 (aged 68) |
| Occupation | Composer, conductor |
| Era | Romantic |
Laura Valborg Aulin (born January 9, 1860, died January 11, 1928) was a talented Swedish pianist and composer. Her two string quartets, one in E Minor and one in F Minor, are considered very important Swedish music from the 1880s.
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Valborg Aulin's Life
Valborg Aulin was born in Gävle, Sweden, in 1860. Both of her parents, Lars Axel Alfred and Edla Aulin, loved music. Her mother, Edla, had hoped to become a singer. However, health problems stopped her from pursuing that dream.
Valborg's father was a scholar who studied ancient Greek. He also taught classical languages at a school in Stockholm. While studying at Uppsala University, he grew to love chamber music. He became a good amateur violinist and violist. He even played in the Mazer String Quartet Society.
Early Musical Training
Valborg Aulin's musical journey started with piano lessons from her grandmother. By the age of 12, she was learning from Hilda Thegerström, a well-known piano teacher.
Later, Albert Rubenson, who directed the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, noticed her talent. When Valborg was 17, she joined the academy. There, she studied composition with Rubenson. She also had lessons from Herman Behrens and Ludvig Norman at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm. Norman was a big supporter of Valborg throughout much of her life. When he passed away in 1885, she composed a piece called Pie Jesu Domine for choir and orchestra in his memory.
In 1880, Valborg gave her first public performance in Söderköping. She then went on tour with her brother, Tor Aulin, to Norrland.
Studying Abroad
After five years of studying piano and composition, Valborg won a special scholarship. It was the Jenny Lind Mendelssohn Travelling Fellowship. This allowed her to study piano in other countries.
In 1886, she traveled to Copenhagen and studied with Niels Wilhelm Gade for a year. Then, in 1887, she moved to Paris for three years. In Paris, she took composition lessons from E. Bourgain, Jules Massenet, Ernest Guiraud, and Benjamin Godard. While in Paris, she created two important works: Tableaux Parisiens for orchestra and Procul este for solo voice, choir, and string orchestra.
Career in Sweden
When Valborg returned to Sweden, she began a career as a teacher, pianist, and composer. In 1890, she joined a women's group called Nya Idun. To earn money, she taught piano, counterpoint, composition, and harmony.
Between 1887 and 1901, Valborg also gave concerts where she played her own compositions. As a pianist, she often performed with her brother, Tor Aulin. They formed the Aulin Quartet with other musicians. They played famous pieces like Camille Saint-Saëns' Piano Quartet and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's G Minor quartet.
Besides many lieder (songs) and pieces for solo piano, her compositions included two string quartets (in F major and in E minor) and organ music.
Moving to Örebro
At 43, Valborg Aulin decided to leave Stockholm, where she had grown up. She moved to Örebro, a city about 125 miles west. In Örebro, she worked as a teacher, organist, and pianist. She also organized concerts. However, she stopped composing new music.
The exact reasons for her move are not fully known. Some people think she might have grown tired of the challenges she faced in Stockholm's music world, especially as a female composer. Others suggest that the Aulin Quartet gradually stopped performing. Also, the early death of her supporter, Ludvig Norman, and other friends might have played a role.
Sadly, Valborg Aulin's music was performed less and less over time and became forgotten. It wasn't until 1991 that her String Quartet No. 2 was performed again.
Valborg Aulin's Compositions
Valborg Aulin's music includes pieces for piano and songs for voice and piano. She wrote music for both new musicians and experienced professionals. For example, she dedicated some works to famous singers like Dina Edling and her former teacher, Hilda Thegerström.
Piano Music
Most of Valborg's piano pieces have only one movement. These are often "mood pieces," meaning their titles describe the feeling or character of the music. For example, Valse élégiaque suggests a sad waltz.
It's interesting that she wrote many single-movement works. She was a very skilled pianist and could have easily played longer, more complex pieces. Some experts believe she might have wanted more of her music published. Smaller works often sold better than larger ones.
Songs for Voice and Piano
Valborg Aulin's songs for solo voice and piano are usually artistic songs, not simple romances. Most of the words for her songs came from poems by Karl Alfred Melin. It's not known if Melin was a famous poet, as he is not well-known today. Other lyrics were mainly written by her supporter, the composer Ludvig Norman. She also set poems by the Swedish poet Carl David af Wirsén and the Finnish-Swedish poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg.
String Quartets
Her two string quartets are considered very important works. Valborg wrote her last quartet when she was 29 years old. Music historians often wonder why she didn't write more quartets later in her life.
Selected Works
- Orchestral Works:
- Tableaux Parisiens, orchestral suite op. 15 (1886)
- Choral Works:
- Pie Jesu Domine, Missa sollemnis opus 13 (for mixed choir and orchestra)
- Herr Olof (ballad for tenor solo, choir, and orchestra op. 3, 1880)
- Voice and Piano:
- Carina (1891)
- Four songs from Heine's 'Buch der Lieder' opus 9
- Vid Rånö ström opus 18 (1890)
- Violin and Piano:
- Elegie opus 8 no. 3 (1880-1890)
- Sonata for piano and violin [G minor]
- Piano Solo:
- 5 Tone poems for piano opus 7 (1882)
- 7 pieces for piano opus 8 (1884)
- Grande sonate sérieuse pour le piano [F minor], Sonata for piano opus 14 (1885)
- Valse élégiaque (1892?)
- Organ:
- Meditation
- String Quartets:
- Qvartett [F major]
- String quartet in E minor opus 17
