Ruben Mattias Liljefors (30 September 1871,

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

– 4 March 1936, Uppsala) was a Swedish

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and conductor, brother of the artist Bruno Liljefors.Niclas Högman
Ruben Liljefors – en biografi
CD-uppsats 2003,

University of Uppsala Uppsala University (UU) () is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially founded in the 15th century, the university rose to s ...

, retrieved 20 March 2016

Life

Liljefors studied in Uppsala with Ivar Eggert Hedenblad until 1895, and subsequently in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

with Salomon Jadassohn until 1899. Later he attended the Stockholm Conservatory. He completed his education with Felix Draeseke,

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University Chu ...

, and Hermann Ludwig Kutzschbach. From 1902 to 1911, he conducted the

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

of the Gothenburg Philharmonic Society. Afterwards, he moved to

Gävle Gävle ( ; ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 79,004 inhabitants in 2020, which makes it the List of cities in Sweden, 13th-most-populated city in Sweden. I ...

to conduct the

Gävleborg County Gävleborg County () is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders the counties of Uppsala County, Uppsala, Västmanland County, Västmanland, Dalarna County, Dalarna, Jämtland County, Jämtland and V� ...

Orchestra between 1912 and 1931; he also served as a music teacher at the Gävle higher general secondary school during this time. He composed a

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

, a concert

overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which ...

, a festival overture, an orchestral suite, a

piano concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...

, a

violin sonata A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, often accompanied by a keyboard instrument and in earlier periods with a bass instrument doubling the keyboard bass line. The violin sonata developed from a simple Baroque music, baroque form wi ...

, many choral works and songs. One of his best-known pieces is the Swedish

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

''När det lider mot jul''. His son, Ingemar Liljefors, was also a successful composer, and his grandson, Mats Liljefors, is a well known conductor and violinist.

Works (selection)

Orchestra

* Overture in C Minor, WoO (1897) * Symphony in E flat Major, Op. 14 (1906; recorded) * Suite ''Fritjof & Ingeborg'', Op. 17 (1916) * Suite ''Summer'' (1919) * Festive Overture (1922) * Three Bagatelles for String Orchestra (1925) * Four Small Folk Pieces (1931) * Festspiel in E flat major (1931) * Suite for String Orchestra (1933)

Concertante works

* Piano Concerto in F minor, Op. 5 (1898; recorded) * Romance for Violin and Orchestra (1918)

Choral works with orchestra

* ''Song at the dedication of the repaired building of the Uppland Nation'' (T. Tullberg), for male choir (1902) * ''Flower Festival'' (C. Snoilsky), soprano and alto solo, mixed choir and orchestra (1907) * ''Cantata for the inauguration of Gothenburg University's new Academy Building'' (A. U. Bååth) soprano, baritone, and tenor solo, mixed choir, male choir, and orchestra (1907) * ''Bohuslän'', Anniversary at the 250-year anniversary of the Peace of Roskilde (E. Evers), solo, mixed choir and organ (1908) * ''Cantata for Heimdal's 40-year anniversary'' (S.H.T.-kantat, Bååth), male choir and piano (1908) * ''Hymn for the Lambert Fair'' (E. A. Karlfeldt), mixed choir and orchestra (1908) * ''Cantata for the inauguration of the Gävle Polytechnic's Refurbishment'' (M. Sterner), tenor solo, mixed choir, blandad kör, boy's choir and orchestra (1914) * ''For the Home District'' (H. Hamilton), baritone solo, mixed choir and orchestra (1914)

Chamber music

Violin Sonata in E major, Op. 2 (1895)

Piano music

* Menuett, WoO (1886) * Wedding March (for his brother Carl's wedding, 1893) * Four Preludes and Fugues ( 1898) * Three Melodies (Nos. 1–2, 1899) * Mazurka in F minor * From the Sketchbook (1914) * Sonata in F Minor (1925) * Moment Musical (1928)

Dramatic works

* ''Hans Höghet'',

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

after Fritz Reuter (1908) * Music for E. Hörman's ''Fritjof och Ingeborg'' for solos, choir and orchestra (1908) * Marionette Overture for the Dock Theater at Stockholm's National Exhibition (1909) * ''Mr. Alarik's Wedding'' (1910)

References

1871 births 1936 deaths 20th-century Swedish classical composers Musicians from Uppsala Pupils of Salomon Jadassohn Swedish Romantic composers Royal College of Music, Stockholm, alumni Swedish male classical composers Swedish male conductors (music) Burials at Uppsala old cemetery 20th-century Swedish conductors (music) 20th-century Swedish male musicians 19th-century Swedish male musicians {{Sweden-composer-stub