Hermanson, Âke (Oscar Werner)

Hermanson, Âke (Oscar Werner), Swedish composer; b. Mollosund, June 16, 1923; d. Stockholm, Aug. 8, 1996. After training from Knut Back and Herman Asplöf in Göteborg, he went to Stockholm and studied organ with Alf Linder and Henry Lindroth, and composition with Rosenberg (1949–52). From 1969 to 1971 he was chairman of the Soc. of Swedish Composers. In 1973 he was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm. In 1982 he received the Nordic Council Prize and in 1986 the Rosenberg Prize. In his music, he pursued a concentrated brevity marked by an alternation of short contrasting motifs, a usage he defined as “pendulum dynamics.”

Works

orch.:Invoco for String (1958-60; Norrköping, May 24, 1961); In nuce (In a Nutshell; 1962-63; Stockholm, Oct. 9, 1964); 4 syms.: No. 1 (1964-67; Stockholm, Oct. 29, 1967), No. 2 (1973-75; Stockholm, Sept. 26, 1976), No. 3 (1980), and No. 4, Oceanus (1981-84; Stockholm, Dec. 19, 1984); Appel I-IV (1968-69; Swedish Radio, Dec. 12, 1970); Ultima (1971-72; Swedish Radio, Nov. 18, 1972); Utopia (1977-78). CHAMBER: Lyrical Metamorphoses for String Quartet (1954–57); A due voci for Flute and Viola (1957–58); Suoni d’un flauto for Alto Flute (1961); Alarme for Horn (1969); In sono for Flute, Oboe or English Horn, Viola, and Cello (1970); Flauto d’inverno for Bass Flute (1976); Ars lineae for 6 Winds (1976); Thrice for Oboe, Clarinet, and Trombone (1976–79); La Strada for Horn and Organ (1979–80); String Quartet (1982–83). VOCAL: Stadier for Soprano, Flute, Bass Clarinet, Viola, and Percussion (1960–61); Bild for Tenor and Trombone (1978–79); Äggjakten for Narrator, Tenor Saxophone, Guitar, and Percussion (1979); choruses.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire