Laci Boldemann

Laci Boldemann (Helsinki, 24 April 1921 – Munich, 18 August 1969) was a Swedish composer born in Finland. His music, simple and direct in language, was oriented above all towards vocal music and, in his later years, towards audiences of children. His biography, marked by war, illustrates the fate of many European musicians of his generation.

He studied conducting with Wood and piano at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 1939 he moved to Sweden, where he took piano lessons with De Frumerie. In 1942 he was compelled to join the German army and served in Russia, Poland and Italy; in Italy he deserted in order to join the partisans of the Abruzzi. After two years in an American prisoner-of-war camp, he returned to Sweden in 1947.

During the 1950s he earned his living as a timber measurer, and in the following decade he worked in music teaching and administration. As a composer he sought simplicity, purity and expressiveness, and regarded vocal music as his ideal medium. He felt musically isolated in Sweden during those years, although his works were recognised in Germany.

Over time he became increasingly interested in composing for children. His opera Dårskapens timme, built on twenty leitmotifs, has a tone of self-irony. Taken as a whole, his music is cheerful, direct and melodic.

His legacy lies largely in his vocal catalogue, which includes some 180 songs with piano, of which 112 are directed at children, as well as operas, orchestral works and chamber pieces.