About Hugo Alfvén
Hugo Emil Alfvén 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 Swedish music. After extensive European travels to develop his musical skills, Alfvén taught composition, before conducting choirs and orchestras. In 1954, he made the first Swedish classical stereo recordings. Hugo Alfvén’s extensive musical archive is held at Uppsala University, where he was music director for twenty-nine years. Alfvén recorded some of his orchestral music in stereo late in 1954 (the first classical stereo recordings made in Sweden); the recordings were issued on LP in the U.S. by Westminster Records. A three-CD collection of Alfvén's recordings as a conductor has been issued. Alfvén became known as one of Sweden's principal composers of his time, together with his contemporary Wilhelm Stenhammar.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.