BLOMDAHL, KARL-BIRGER  BIOGRAPHY

Karl-Birger Blomdahl was born in 1916 and after studying biochemistry, became a pupil of Rosenberg. He was soon to embrace the most recent moves in music, and was strongly influenced by Hindemith. His music later moved towards the Second Viennese School, and he became a major Swedish figure in the world of experimental music. There remained an affinity with melodic concepts in much of his output, which took in every genre from opera to instrumental music. He was to become a well-known conductor, and as professor of composition at the Swedish Royal Academy of Music was to have an influence on the next generation of composers. He was also to effect contemporary music in Sweden, many of his compositions gaining 'notoriety' for their extreme modernism. During the later part of his life, his output was greatly reduced.