Donation expands Hugo Alfvén’s letter collection
Kia Hedell, Stefan Karpe and Rebecca Måwe when handing over the letters of Hugo Alfvén.
Uppsala University Library has received a donation containing 26 letters written by Swedish composer Hugo Alfvén.
Hugo Alfvén's archive is already held at Uppsala University Library. The archive contains a large collection of letters, most of which were written to Alfvén. The donation consists of letters written by Alfvén to Nils Grevillius (1893–1970), who was a violinist and court conductor at the Royal Swedish Orchestra in the mid-20th century.
We are very grateful and delighted to receive this donation. The archive already contains Grevillius' letters to Alfvén. Now, with Alfvén's letters, we can follow the correspondence in both directions. This makes it an important addition to the archive, says Kia Hedell, music librarian at Uppsala University Library.
The correspondence between Grevillius and Alfvén largely concerns Alfvén's compositions, such as Midsommarvaka and the ballet Bergakungen.
Kia Hedell and Stefan Karpe
Purchased thanks to previous donation
The letters were purchased through an auction house, with funds from a previous donation to Uppsala University by Swedish-American diplomat Lyndon Olson. Thanks to the donation, the letters are now available for research at the Library instead of remaining in private ownership.
The letters were handed over to the Library in December 2025 by Stefan Karpe and Rebecca Måwe, Musicum at Uppsala University.
The 26 letters written by Hugo Alfvén
