The idea for a ballet based on the biblical legend of The Prodigal Son was suggested to Alfvén in 1956 by the choreographer Ivo Cramer, who wanted to produce a ballet to celebrate Alfvén’s eighty-fifth birthday in 1957. The suite contains seven numbers from the score, and includes several lively Swedish polkas, typical of Alfvén’s lighter style. By contrast the massive Second Symphony, first performed with great success in 1899, was one of the first Swedish musical works to move beyond nationalism to a more international view of the world. The inspiration for this epic late-romantic score is the sea, and the many different aspects of it which man encounters, from tranquillity to turbulence.