Elfrida Andrée was an important female pioneer of Swedish music. She was the first woman in Sweden to graduate as an organist from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. She did so as a private citizen, because in 1857, women did not have access to education. Nor did they have the right to pursue a position as an organist – that would require a legal amendment.

Elfrida Andrée was a powerful voice in this matter and in 1861, the law finally changed. She became organist of the Finnish Church in Stockholm that same year. She later became the Gothenburg Cathedral organist.

Stylistically, Elfrida Andrée followed in the footsteps of her teacher Ludvig Norman, but she was also influenced by the music of Beethoven, Schumann and perhaps most of all, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.

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This excerpt of music is from episode 4 of the series Mankind and Music. The five episodes are available to watch here on Konserthuset Play. Why does music exist? What happens to us when we make or listen to music? In this series, we explore answers to these questions together with musicians, listeners and researchers.