Although the music of Hugo Alfvén has never been widely heard internationally, in his native Sweden he is regarded as representing the spirit of the country, partly owing to his intimate knowledge of Swedish folk music. A gifted watercolourist, writer and composer, Alfvén was well equipped by ability as well as temperament to depict the unique island landscape of the Stockholm archipelago, the stated aim of his Fourth Symphony: “The action takes place in the skerries, where sea rages among the rocks on gloomy, stormy nights, by moonlight and in sunshine…”