Johan Andreas Hallén (22 December 1846 – 11 March 1925) was a Swedish

Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

composer, conductor and music teacher, primarily known for his

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

s, which were heavily influenced by

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

’s

music drama is a German word that means a unity of prose and music. Initially coined by Theodor Mundt in 1833, it was most notably used by Richard Wagner, along with Gesamtkunstwerk, to define his operas. Usage Mundt formulated his definition explicit ...

s. Hallén was born in Gothenburg and died in Stockholm, but the early years of his career and most of his education were in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. Like his

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

contemporary

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

and many other composers the same generation, Hallén frequently evokes the folk music and folk stories of his home country in his compositions. According to the musicologist Axel Helmer, however, "The salient feature of his style .. and the one which strongly affected contemporary reaction, is its close, almost derivative relationship to German music," especially Wagner. Around 1885, Hallén returned to Sweden and continued to conduct and compose, and in later years taught composition at the

Stockholm Conservatory The Royal College of Music, Stockholm ( sv, Kungliga Musikhögskolan i Stockholm) is the oldest institution of higher education in music in Sweden, founded in 1771 as the conservatory of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The institution was ma ...

Works

Operas

*''Harald der Wiking'' (1881) *''Harald Viking'' (1884) (Revised and translated version of ''Harald der Wiking'') *''Hexfällan'' (Witch’s trap) (1896) *'' Valdemarskatten'' ( Valdemar’s Treasure) (1899) *''Valborgsmässa'' (Walpurgis Night) (1902) (Revised version of ''Hexfällan'')

References

External links

Classical Composers Database - Johan Andreas Hallén
* 1846 births 1925 deaths 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers Swedish opera composers Male opera composers Romantic composers Swedish classical composers Swedish male classical composers Swedish conductors (music) Male conductors (music) 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Swedish male musicians 20th-century Swedish musicians 19th-century male musicians {{Sweden-composer-stub