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It was in 1905, an entire decade prior to Wilhelm Stenhammar's second symphony, that Hugo Alfvén completed his third symphony. In this work Alfvén, like many other Scandinavian composers, found the typical Nordic tone of his music in the sunny south. Like Sibelius' second symphony and Stenhammar's Serenade for Orchestra, this symphony is Swedish through and through. In addition, it is pervaded by the longing for home repeatedly felt by Alfvén during his years of wandering. He composed his Uppsala Rhapsody in 1907 for the commemoration of the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of the great botanist Carl von Linné (Linnaeus) held at the University of Uppsala in May 1907. Like it's counterpart by Johannes Brahms, this work turned out to be an »Academic Festival Overture« including some student songs. The Concert Suite from Alfvén's ballet The Mountain King offers a masterful wealth of color. His excellent knowledge of the art of instrumentation was the product of his earlier activity as a violinist in the Royal Court Orchestra, which also served as the Opera Orchestra.
