Sven-Erik Bäck (16 September 1919 – 10 January 1994) 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 ...

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

. He was born 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 ...

. Bäck studied from 1939 until 1943 in the King's Music-Academy and from 1940 until 1945, was a composition student of

Hilding Rosenberg Hilding Constantin Rosenberg (June 21, 1892 – May 18, 1985)Lyne Peter H. Rosenberg, Hilding (Constantin). In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan, London & New York, 1997. was a Swedish composer and conductor. He is commonly re ...

. He travelled in 1951 to have further studies with Goffredo Petrassi in Rome. As of 1953 he was the leader of the

chamber orchestra Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

of the Swedish Radio Orchestra. He was also a member of string quartets - the Kyndel Quartet from 1940 to 1944 and the Barkel Quartet from 1944 to 1953. Bäck composed three

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s, five works for

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, many

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

s, a number of works for

chamber ensemble Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

including at least four

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

s, an oratorio,

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

choral 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 ...

works,

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 music for plays and

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

. He died in Stockholm in 1994. He was 74

Works for stage and opera

* Tranfjädrarna (The Twilight Crane), Chamber Opera, 1956 * Gästabudet (The Banquet), Chamber Opera, 1956 * Fågeln (The Bird), Chamber Opera, 1960

Chamber music

Chamber works other than piano solo works

*String quartets (nos. 1 (1945), 2 (1947), 3 (1962), 4 (1984)) *String quintet Exercitier (1948) *Sonata for solo flute, 1949 *Sonata for two cellos, 1957 *Decet for wind quintet and string quintet (1973) *String octet (1988)

Piano works

* Piano sonata (1942) * Expansive preludes : for piano (1949) * Sonata alla ricercare (1950) (recorded on MHS 3363, 1976 by Kjell Bækkelund, and on Roland Pöntinen's complete survey of Bäck's piano music for BIS) * Sonata in two movements and epilogue (1984)

Orchestra

Concertos

*Violin concerto (1957/1960) *Cello concerto (1966

*Ciclos, piano concerto (1977)

Without soloist

*String symphony (1951) *Chamber symphony (1955) *String symphony no. 2 (1986)

References

External links

Biography at STIM
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bäck, Sven-Erik 1919 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Swedish classical composers International Rostrum of Composers prize-winners Swedish male opera composers Swedish opera composers 20th-century Swedish male musicians 20th-century Swedish musicians Musicians from Stockholm