Sven Scholander

Sven Scholander (21 April 1860 – 14 December 1936) was a Swedish musician, singer, composer and sculptor. His musical innovations led to a revival in Swedish lute playing whilst his solo performances of Carl Michael Bellman reintroduced the works in their original form.

Sculptor Born into a large and musical family, Scholander was the son of Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander, an architect whose avocations included painting, poetry and singing to his own guitar accompaniment.

Businessman

In addition to his artistic pursuits Scholander was a businessman, who opened a retail outlet for the Hasselblad Company in 1895, where he sold cameras and photographic equipment. He was also active in the publishing industry and in 1915 became the managing director of the AB Nordiska Musikförlaget. In fact, his concerts were often referred to as "Bellman evenings".

America

Scholander’s younger brother Torkel Scholander (1871-1962) was likewise a singer and lute player. While touring the United States in 1911 he recorded twenty sides for Victor Records. Twelve years later the troubadour Gunnar Bohman (1882-1963) crossed the Atlantic and performed Bellman songs for Swedish-American audiences from coast to coast. Although Sven Scholander performed throughout Scandinavia and continental Europe, he never visited America or became popular with his countrymen there.

Legacy As a composer, Scholander set the lyrics of Dan Andersson, Gustaf Fröding, Erik Axel Karlfeldt and to music. Between 1924 and 1930 he published ten volumes of these songs and ballads. In 2010 recordings by Sven Scholander, Torkel Scholander and Gunnar Bohman were reissued on a Bellman tribute album.