Remarkable 20th century Swedish composer. Best known for his 16 symphonies, all now recorded. He suffered from crippling arthritis much of his adult life and this is reflected in his music. His music is dark, anguished, pessimistic, powerful. He described himself as "a voice crying out, drowned in the noise of the times." His music is related, in design, to that of Mahler.

Lars Erik Andrenius <tjarodejka@hotmail.com> reacts:

I’m sorry to say, that it is a mistake to mention sixteen of Allan Pettersson’s symphonies beeing recorded. The first and the last, no 1 and 17 are not recorded and perhaps never will be, due to the condition of the works. So far none of them are in concert condition while endings and other parts are missing. Perhaps one day some fellow composer will complete the works like Friedrich Cerha did for Berg’s Lulu or Deryck Cooke did for Mahler’s Tenth. Meanwhile we’ll have to wait...