Elfrida Andrée

Andrée before 1916Elfrida Andrée (19 February 1841 – 11 January 1929) was a Swedish organist, composer, and conductor. Her sister was the singer Fredrika Stenhammar.

Life and career

Early life and education Andrée was born on 19 February 1841 in Visby to the doctor Andreas Andrée and Lovisa Lyth, both of whom were actively involved in musical pursuits.

Activism In Sweden at the time Andrée was ready to begin her career, unmarried women over the age of twenty-five were barred from holding permanent positions as church organists. Both Elfrida and her father repeatedly lobbied the Swedish parliament to change the law, and eventually succeeded in 1861. she was one of the first female organists to be officially appointed in Scandinavia.

Career Andrée began work in Stockholm in 1861 and became the organist at Gothenburg Cathedral in 1867, where she remained the organist until her death. In 1897 she was named leader of the Gothenburg Workers Institute Concerts, establishing her reputation as the first Swedish woman to conduct a symphony orchestra. Reportedly, she fainted upon hearing the news of her appointment. During her career, she won the Litteris et Artibus award in 1895, as well as the Idun "Women's Academy" Fellowship in 1908.

Compositions Andrée wrote two organ symphonies, No. 1 in B minor and No. 2 in E-flat major The composer was rediscovered in the 1980s by the Swedish musicologist Eva Öhrström.