Hilding Rosenberg – Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 85 (1940)

Hilding Constantin Rosenberg (June 21, 1892 – May 18, 1985) was a Swedish composer and conductor. He is commonly regarded as the first Swedish modernist composer, and one of the most influential figures in 20th-century classical music in Sweden.

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Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 85 (1940)
Dedication: Carl-Olof Josephson

1. Allegro (0:00)
2. Lento cantabile (4:45)
3. Allegro assai (13:04)

Cecilia Zilliacus, violin and Bengt-Ake Lundin, piano

Born in Bosjökloster, he was an organist (completing his examinations in 1909), and as a young man a concert pianist and music teacher. In 1915 he began studying at the Stockholm Conservatory under Ernst Ellberg. Later teachers included Wilhelm Stenhammar (counterpoint) and Hermann Scherchen (conducting). Stenhammar included several of Rosenberg’s early works in concerts he arranged. After the First World War, he toured Europe and became a prominent conductor. In 1920 he studied on a scholarship in Berlin, Dresden, Vienna and Paris, which brought formative contacts with Arnold Schönberg and Paul Hindemith.

While his earlier works display the influence of Sibelius, he soon led the way for Swedish composers to move away from the late Romantic style and became considered as somewhat radical. His output covered all genres, from his 14 works for string quartet (1920–1972) and eight symphonies (1917–1974, including his symphony no. 2 Grave, symphony no. 4 Johannes Uppenbarelse, fifth symphony Örtagårdsmästaren and sixth Sinfonia Semplice) as well as Piano Concerto no. 2 to songs. He wrote a considerable body of work for the theatre (around 50 scores in total), including nine operatic works.

He taught composition privately to amongst others Karl-Birger Blomdahl, Ingvar Lidholm, and Daniel Börtz. He opined that “One creates out of what has been before, out of the experiences of others, as well as those of oneself, out of everything one knows, has read, or been acquainted with”.

His violin concerto features as part of the sound track of the 1936 film Intermezzo, directed by Gustaf Molander and starring Ingrid Bergman and Gösta Ekman. He also composed music for the 1944 film Hets (known in English as either Torment or Frenzy), directed by Alf Sjöberg from a screenplay by Ingmar Bergman.

Rosenberg was Vice-President of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in 1951–1953, received a honorary doctorate from Uppsala University in 1951 and was a honorary member of the International Society for Contemporary Music. He died in Bromma, Stockholm.

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