Stig Evald Börje Westerberg (26 November 1918 – 1 July 1999) was a Swedish

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, j ...

, whose career was based mostly in his home country.Karlsson H. "Stig Westerberg". In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', 2nd edition. Macmillan, London and New York, 2001.

Biography

Born in

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal popula ...

, Stig Westerberg studied Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm from 1937 to 1942, with Melchior Melchers for theory and Tor Mann for conducting. After the Second World War, he also studied in Paris with Paul Kletzki. He was a repetiteur at the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera ( sv, Kungliga Operan) is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the center of Sweden's capital Stockholm in the borough of Norrmalm, on the eastern s ...

from 1943 to 1946, also making he debut conducting the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra 1946. Other positions held during this time were Conductor of the

Oscarsteatern Oscarsteatern ( English: Oscar Theatre), also known simply as Oscars, is one of Stockholm's private theatres and is the best-known musical theatre in Sweden. It is located at Kungsgatan 63 in central Stockholm. History The theater was designed i ...

from 1947 to 1948, and Musical Director of

Gävle Symphony Orchestra The Gävle Symphony Orchestra ( sv, Gävle symfoniorkester) is a symphony orchestra based in Gävle, Sweden. The orchestra is resident at the ''Gävle Konserthus'' (Gävle Concert Hall). History Founded in 1912, giving its first concert on 16 Ja ...

from 1949 to 1953, and conductor at the Royal Swedish Opera from 1953 to 1957.Royal Court Orchestra home page
Accessed 16 May 2011 For 25 years, Westerberg conducted the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra – from 1958 to 1983 and raised the standard of the ensemble to international level. He championed Swedish composers such as

Hugo Alfvén Hugo Emil Alfvén (; 1 May 18728 May 1960) was a Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter. Career Violinist Alfvén was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and studied at the Royal College of Music (Kungliga Musikhögskolan) from 1887 t ...

Kurt Atterberg Kurt Magnus Atterberg (, 12 December 188715 February 1974) was a Swedish composer and engineer. He is best known for his symphonies, operas, and ballets. Biography Atterberg was born in Gothenburg. His father was Anders Johan Atterberg, enginee ...

Allan Pettersson Gustaf Allan Pettersson (19 September 1911 – 20 June 1980) was a Swedish composer and violist. He is considered one of the 20th century's most important Swedish composers, he was described as one of the last great symphonists, ...

and

Wilhelm Stenhammar Carl Wilhelm Eugen Stenhammar (February 7, 1871 – November 20, 1927) was a Swedish composer, conductor and pianist. Biography Stenhammar was born in Stockholm and was the brother of architect Ernst Stenhammar. He received his first musical ed ...

alongside the core repertoire. From 1978 to 1985, he was chief conductor of the

Malmö Symphony Orchestra The Malmö Symphony Orchestra ( sv, Malmö Symfoniorkester) is a Swedish orchestra, based in Malmö. Since 2015, it has been resident at the Malmö Live Concert Hall. The orchestra has a complement of 94 musicians. History The orchestra was fo ...

. Westerberg premiered over 80 works and left a major legacy of broadcasts and of recordings on the BIS, Caprice,

Sterling Sterling may refer to: Common meanings * Sterling silver, a grade of silver * Sterling (currency), the currency of the United Kingdom ** Pound sterling, the primary unit of that currency Places United Kingdom * Stirling, a Scottish city w ...

and Swedish Society labels. Westerberg died in

Lidingö Lidingö, also known in its definite form ''Lidingön'' and as ''Lidingölandet'', is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, northeast of Stockholm, Sweden. In 2010, the population of the Lidingö urban area on the island was 31,561. It ...

Recordings

Westerberg's discography consists of many 19th and 20th-century Swedish orchestral works, including ''Förklädd Gud'' by Larsson with

Lars Ekborg Lars Åke Rupert Ekborg (6 June 1926 – 7 October 1969) was a Swedish actor, comedian, and singer. Ekborg was the father of actors Dan and Anders Ekborg. He died of liver cancer in 1969. He may be heard as the recitor in the 1956 recording o ...

Elisabeth Söderström Anna Elisabeth Söderström (married name Olow; 7 May 192720 November 2009) was a Swedish soprano who performed both opera and song, and was known as a leading interpreter of the works of Janáček, Rachmaninoff and Sibelius.Elizabeth Sleeman, ...

and Erik Saedén, as well as some opera records, such as ''

Aniara ''Aniara'' ( sv, Aniara : en revy om människan i tid och rum) is a book-length epic science fiction poem written by Swedish Nobel laureate Harry Martinson from 1953 to 1956. It narrates the tragedy of a large passenger spacecraft carrying a ca ...

'' and '' Estrella de Soria''. Radio recordings included Elgar, Grieg and Offenbach.Svensk Mediedatabas; National Library of Sweden, accessed 13 February 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westerberg, Stig 1918 births 1999 deaths Swedish conductors (music) Male conductors (music) 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Swedish male musicians Musicians from Malmö