Kurt Atterberg
He accepted a post at the Swedish Patent and Registration Office in 1912, going on to become a head of department in 1936 and working there until his retirement in 1968.
Possibly Atterberg's greatest success was his triumph in the 1928 International Columbia Graphophone Competition, organized to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of Franz Schubert's death.
It was performed all over the Western world in subsequent years, among others by Thomas Beecham and Arturo Toscanini.
From 1935–1938, Atterberg was also general secretary of the Permanent Council for the International Co-operation of Composers (Ständiger Rat für die internationale Zusammenarbeit der Komponisten), founded by Richard Strauss.
[citation needed] There are anti-Semitic streaks in Atterberg's correspondence and use of language, particularly evident in disputes with the composer Moses Pergament, a music critic for the Svenska Dagbladet.
"[2] The contradiction between the composers was rooted in their diametrically different artistic orientations and the fact that Atterberg was a leading personality in Swedish musical life and an advocate of the romantic national identity.
[3] Pergament on the other hand, belonged to a more modernist phalanx, together with Gösta Nystroem and Hilding Rosenberg.
[citation needed] Atterberg composed in a romantic style that may be compared to that of the musicians of the Nordic nationalist current, in particular Edvard Grieg or Jean Sibelius.
While his five operas have fallen into neglect, the nine symphonies (ten when including the 1953 Sinfonia per archi) are once again being heard more frequently, and have been recorded several times.
His Ninth Symphony (entitled Sinfonia Visionaria) was, like Beethoven's, scored for orchestra and chorus with vocal soloists.
1, and a cello concerto), nine orchestral suites, three string quartets, a Sonata in B minor, five operas and two ballets.
[7] On February 22, 2005, CPO Records released a complete box set of recordings of Atterberg's symphonies, as well as the symphonic poem Älven – Från Fjällen till Havet (The River – From the Mountains to the Sea).
