Dag Wirén, composer of the Serenade for Strings, formulated his artistic credo as: "I believe in God, Mozart and Carl Nielsen."
Composer Biography
Ingvar Lidholm was the first Swede to visit the holiday courses for new music at Darmstadt in 1949, bringing continental avant-gardism to Sweden.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Lille Bror Söderlundh, influenced by Dalecarlian folk music, believed that "surface effects should not veil the clarity and purity of the content."
Cultural Impact
Dag Wirén's Serenade for Strings became his most frequently performed composition, partly because its finale, 'Marcia', was the signature tune for the popular BBC cultural magazine Monitor.
Composer Biography
Lille Bror Söderlundh, known for his ballads, studied scores by Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Nielsen, and Bartók after being considered merely a "lute singer."
Performer Biography
Esa-Pekka Salonen, the conductor, played the horn and composed extensively before beginning conducting lessons at age twenty.
Composition History
Dag Wirén's Serenade for Strings Op. 11 was first performed by the Stockholm Chamber Orchestra on October 28, 1937, at a promenade concert at the National Museum.
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