Johan August Söderman (17 July 1832 – 10 February 1876) was a Swedish composer. He was born and died 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 ...

, and has traditionally been seen as the pre-eminent Swedish composer of the Romantic generation, known especially for his

lied In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...

er and choral works, based on folk material, and for his theatre music, such as the

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as th ...

to Ludvig Josephson's ''Marsk Stigs döttrar'' ("Marshal Stig's Daughter"), 1866, or his ''Svenskt festspel'' ("Swedish Festival Music").

Biography

The son of a musical father and he was a pupil of the

Royal Swedish Academy The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

in Stockholm, he studied piano, but mastered the oboe and violin as well. In 1856–57 he studied

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

at the

Leipzig Conservatory The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig () is a public university in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest music ...

with Ernst Richter; there, in a musical culture that bore the imprint of

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

, he became familiar with the music of

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

and also with that of

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

. On his return to Stockholm he worked as a theatre conductor, and at 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 ...

as choirmaster and eventually assistant conductor. He wrote several operettas (''The Devil’s First Try'', 1856) and incidental music for about 80 plays, such as a Swedish translation of

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

's ''Die Jungfrau von Orleans'' ("The Maid of Orleans"). His influence can be detected in the music of later Swedish Romantic composers,

Hugo Alfvén Hugo Emil Alfvén (; 1 May 18728 May 1960) was a Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter. Alfvén was one of Sweden's principal composers. His "Swedish Rhapsody”, written when he was 31, is still one of the best-known pieces of Sw ...

and

Wilhelm Peterson-Berger Olof Wilhelm Peterson-Berger ( 27 February 1867 — 3 December 1942) was a Swedes, Swedish composer and music critic. As a composer, his main musical influences were Edvard Grieg, Grieg, August Söderman and Richard Wagner, Wagner as well as Swed ...

. Söderman died aged 43. His music is virtually unknown outside Sweden.

List of works

Orchestral music

* Concert overture in F major, 1855? –1868 * Chariveripolka, 1848 * Intermezzo (Sailors' Lives), 1850s * Burlesque, 1855 * Scherzo (sketch), 1856 * Swedish festival, 1858, originally overture to A few hours at Kronoborg Castle and the Virgin of Orleans * Swedish folk songs and folk dances, possibly identical to Nordic folk songs and folk dances, printed posthumously in 1897 * Festmarsch, 1869 * ''Bellman melodies'', printed 1870 * Sorgmarsch in C minor, 1871 * Charles XV's mourning march in E minor, 1872 * ''Festpolonäs'' in A major, 1873 * ''Festmarsch'' in E flat major, 1873

Works for choir and orchestra (selected)

Söderman composed a large amount of vocal works for different choruses or solo voice. Selected works are listed below. For a full list, see the Swedish-language article. * ''An die Freude'' (Friedrich von Schiller), for male choir and orchestra, 1859 * ''Tempelsalen (Temple Hall)'' (E Wallmark, for male choir and orchestra), 1863 * ''Die Wallfahrt nach Kevlaar (The Pilgrimage to Kevlaar)'' (Heinrich Heine) for baritone, choir and orchestra, 1859-66 * ''Signefills färd (Signefill's journey)'' (Ludvig Josephson) for soloists, choir, and orchestra, 1869 * ''Das Heidelberger Fess'' (Friedrich von Hagedorn) for bass, male choir and piano, 1869 * ''Hjertesorg (Heartbreak)'' (Karl Wetterhoff) for soprano, mixed choir and orchestra, 1870, orchestrated by Ludvig Norman * Spiritual songs for mixed choir and organ, printed 1872 ** Kyrie ** Agnus Dei ** Jesus Christ ** Domine ** Benedict ** Virgo Gloriosa ** Osanna * Catholic Mass for soloists, mixed choir, and orchestra, 1875

Chamber music

* Piano Quartet in E minor, 1856

Music for piano

* Fantasier à la Almqvist, 1868 * Cherkassy dance, 1871

References

External links

* * 1832 births 1876 deaths 19th-century Swedish classical composers 19th-century Swedish male musicians Swedish male opera composers Musicians from Stockholm Swedish Romantic composers Swedish opera composers {{Sweden-composer-stub