Lars-Erik Larsson (1908-1986) was a Swedish composer and educator known for his diverse compositional styles. He attended the Stockholm Conservatory from 1925-29, where he produced early works such as En spelmans jordafaerd (1928) and his first symphony (1928), garnering him attention as a composer. He then studied in Vienna and Leipzig under Alan Berg and Fritz Reuter, before returning to Sweden to compose and work as a coach at the Royal Theatre in Stockholm.

In the 1930s, Larsson composed works in numerous styles. He is known as the first composer to write a twelve-tone work in Sweden, but also delved into the Scandinavian Romanticism made popular by Sibelius, neoclassicism, contrapuntalism, and polytonality. His smaller scale works of a lyrical and neoclassical style, such as his piano sonatina, were very popular, but his larger scale works, such as his second symphony, were not as successful. In 1937, he was appointed to the Swedish radio, where he worked as a composer and a conductor. During this period, he mainly wrote music for radio, theater, and film, even creating a new genre called the “lyrical suite,” which juxtaposed music and recitations of poetry.

After World War II, Larsson returned to writing classical compositions. His works continued to vacillate between styles; he wrote a series of concertinos for amateur musicians as well as several other works in a polytonal, Hindemith-esque style. He also developed his own twelve-tone system using “interval piles” instead of series. By the end of his career, however, he had returned to romantic, neoclassic, and contrapuntal writing.

Larsson was also a dedicated educator, teaching composition at the Stockholm Conservatory and later serving as music director of Uppsala University. He retired from teaching in 1971, but continued composing until 1980. He died in 1986 after a successful and diverse career.