Hallström, Ivar (Christian)

Hallström, Ivar (Christian), Swedish composer; b. Stockholm, June 5, 1826; d. there, April 11, 1901. He studied jurisprudence at the Univ. of Uppsala, where he became a friend of Prince Gustaf, who was himself a musical amateur. On April 9, 1847, jointly with Gustaf, he produced in Stockholm an opera, Hvita frun på Drottningholm (The White Lady of Drottningholm). In 1853 he became librarian to Prince Oscar, and from 1861 to 1872 he was director of Lindblad’s music school in Stockholm. His opera Hertig Magnus och sjöjungfrun (Duke Magnus and the Mermaid) was produced at the Royal Opera in Stockholm on Jan. 28, 1867, but had only 6 performances in all, purportedly because it contained more arias in minor keys (10, to be exact) than those in major (only 8). He then produced another opera, Den förtrollade Kauen (The Enchanted Cat; Stockholm, April 20, 1869), which was more successful. With his next opera, Den Bergtagna (The Bewitched One), produced in Stockholm on May 24, 1874, he achieved his greatest success; it had repeated performances not only in Sweden, but also in Germany and Denmark. In this work Hallstrom made use of Swedish folk motifs, a pioneering attempt in Scandinavian operatic art. His next opera, Vikingarna (Stockholm, June 6, 1877), was but moderately successful; there followed Neaga (Stockholm, Feb. 24, 1885), to a libretto by Carmen Sylva (Queen Elisabeth of Romania). He also wrote several ballets, cantatas, and arrangements of Swedish folk songs for piano.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire