Hägg (Peterson), Gustaf Wilhelm
Hägg (Peterson), Gustaf Wilhelm
Hägg (Peterson), Gustaf Wilhelm, eminent Swedish organist and composer; b. Visby, Nov. 28, 1867; d. Stockholm, Feb. 7, 1925. Hägg was his mother’s name, which he legally adopted; his father’s name was Peterson. He was a remote relative of Jakob Adolf Hägg. He studied organ at the Stockholm Cons., and in 1893 he was appointed organist at the Klara Church in Stockholm, retaining this position for the rest of his life. In the interim he traveled for further study in Germany and France (1897–1900). In 1904 he joined the staff of the Stockholm Cons., as a teacher of harmony and organ playing. He enjoyed a distinguished reputation in Sweden as an organist, and gave numerous recitals in which he played the works of Cesar Franck and other organ composers. He also composed 5 organ concertos and other organ pieces, several cantatas, and songs. He arranged and publ, collections of Swedish songs (Stockholm, 1908), and an album, Songs of Sweden (N.Y., 1909).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire