Allan Pettersson

Gustaf Allan Pettersson (19 September 1911 – 20 June 1980) was a Swedish composer and violist. He is considered one of the 20th century’s most important Swedish composers and was described as one of the last great symphonists, often compared to Gustav Mahler. Pettersson’s music has a very distinctive sound and can hardly be confused with that of any other 20th-century composer. In the final decade of his life, his symphonies (typically one-movement works) developed an international following, particularly in Germany and Sweden. Of these, his best known work is Symphony No. 7. His music later found success in the United States. Gustaf Allan Pettersson was the youngest of four children. His father, Karl Viktor Pettersson (1875–1952), was a violent, alcoholic blacksmith, in Stockholm’s Södermalm district, where he lived throughout his life. He once said: With his parents and siblings, Pettersson lived in a damp, one-room basement apartment with bars on the window. Through strict self-discipline and with the help of music, Pettersson freed himself from his social misery and difficult family circumstances. He later made two unsuccessful attempts to enter the conservatory of the Royal Sw