Elfrida Andrée

Swedish Organist and Composer
Born: 1841 (Visby, Sweden)
Died: 1929 (Gothenburg, Sweden)

BIOGRAPHY
Born into a musical family in Visby, Sweden, Elfrida Andrée began her musical education with piano lessons from her father. By the age of sixteen, she had established herself as an accomplished organist. Three years later, she continued her formal musical studies with Ludvig Norman at the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in Stockholm. Andrée became the first woman to receive a diploma in organ studies from the Academy. At the time, however, women were prohibited from pursuing professional careers as church organists. Andrée played a significant role in challenging this restriction and became an important figure in the advancement of women’s rights in Sweden.

Around 1860, Andrée anonymously submitted one of her compositions to the Swedish Art Music Society. The work was accepted and subsequently published; had the society known that the composition was written by a woman, it likely would not have been accepted. Around the same period, Andrée successfully competed for an official church organist position, outperforming seven male candidates during the audition process.

Andrée later served as the principal organist of Gothenburg Cathedral, a position she held while continuing her work as a composer and performer. She also frequently conducted her own compositions for orchestra and choir, becoming the first woman in Sweden to conduct a symphony orchestra. Her first symphony was performed in Stockholm in 1869. She remained active as a musician and composer until her death at the age of eighty-eight.

Andrée composed approximately 135 works across a variety of genres, including music for piano, organ, chamber ensembles, orchestra, and choir. Her musical style was influenced by composers such as Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann, as well as by the French Romantic organ tradition.

Among Andrée’s chamber compositions are two sonatas for violin and piano, both composed in 1872. These works were likely intended for performance in private salon settings, although neither was published during her lifetime.

Sonata for Piano and Violin in E-Flat Major (1872)

SONATA INFORMATION
Twenty-two years after writing this piece, Andree used aspects of her violin sonata as inspiration for her Organ Symphony, which won second prize in a composition competition.
I. Allegro (approx. ~4 min)
II. Andante cantabile (approx. ~4 min)
III. Finale: Allegro moderato e risoluto (approx. ~5 min)

SCORES
1. Manuscript Location: Unknown
2. First Edition: Hildegard, Carl Fischer, Worldcat
3. Second Edition: Furore, Koha, Worldcat

RECORDINGS
None

Sonata for Violin and Piano in B-Flat Major (1872)

SONATA INFORMATION
I. Allegro con spirito (~5 min)
II. Andante cantabile (~2 min)
III. Finale. Allegro moderato e risoluto (~6 min)

SCORES
1. Manuscript Location: Unknown
2. Hildegard Edition: Hildegard, Koha, Pender’s Music Company, Carl Fischer, Worldcat

RECORDINGS
Annette-Barbara Vogel and Durval Cesetti: *Youtube, Spotify, Toccata Classics, Naxos, Presto Music, Discogs, Amazon, Apple Music

*The YouTube link indicates that it is the E Flat Major Sonata, however, it is actually the B Flat Major Sonata.