Thomas Byström (1772-1839)
- Sonate (B-Dur) des 'Trois sonates pour le clavecin ou pianoforte
avec accompagnement d'un violon obligé composées par ... Oeuvre. 1
(1801)
Performers: Izumi Tateno (piano); Yoshiko Arai (violin)
Further info: Musica Fennica 1772-1843
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Finnish-Swedish music teacher, composer and military officer. The son of
a successful statesman in the province of Finland (then part of
Sweden), he was encouraged to study violin and piano at an early age by
his father. In 1787 he enrolled at a military academy in St. Petersburg,
later joining the Swedish army in 1792 as an adjutant and subsequently
aide-de-camp to Gustav IV Adolph. He was mostly stationed in Stockholm
beginning with his Swedish army career and was thus able to participate
in musical social circles. He was elected in 1794 to the Royal Swedish
Academy of Music, and in 1801 he published a set of violin sonatas, as
well as a series of strophic Lieder. As a government military official,
however, his compositional career was limited. He taught music for a
period (1813-1825) at the Royal Academy. He was elected an honorary
member of the Harmoniska Sällskapet in 1832. As a composer, his works,
dated from the period 1794 to 1805, include the three violin sonatas,
nine songs, and a set of variations on a Russian theme, as well as
several smaller keyboard works. His style has been likened to early
Ludwig van Beethoven in its use of motives and sequencing, as well as
bold harmonic modulations.
