Ralph Harold Lundsten (6 October 1936 – 5 July 2023) was a Swedish composer of electronic music, as well as a film director, visual artist, and author.

Life and career

Lundsten was born and raised in Ersnäs, Norrbotten, in northern Sweden,^[1] and lived in Nacka on the outskirts of Stockholm, still close to the forest and the sea. His home was Castle Frankenburg, a pink wooden mansion dating from 1878 which also housed his electronic music studio, Andromeda Studio.^[2]

From 1959 he lived an independent life, creating his own personal musical language,^[3] and preparing original films and exhibitions. His song Out in the Wide World served as the interval signal for Radio Sweden International's shortwave broadcasts,^[4] while a modified stanza from his 1970 song "Nattmara" was used by Sveriges Utbildningsradio during long breaks between its educational television programming on Sveriges Television (SVT) in the late 1970s.

During the 1950s Lundsten built his own electronic musical instruments and was one of the pioneers in this field.

Lundsten was awarded the Illis quorum in 2008.^[5] He died on 5 July 2023, at the age of 86.^[6]

Albums

• 1966 – Dokumentation 1 (Elektronmusikstudion). ('The electronic music studio')
• 1967 – MUMS (Musik under miljoner stjärnor). 'Music beneath millions of stars'
• 1968 – Elektronisk musik (with Leo Nilson). 'Electronic music'
• 1969 – Tellus. Fågel Blå. 'Tellus. Blue Bird'
• 1969 – Svit för elektroniskt dragspel. 'Suite for electronic accordion'
• 1970 – Erik XIV och Ristningar. 'Erik XIV and Carvings'
• 1970 – Ölskog. 'Beer forest'
• 1971 – Gustav III/Nattmara 'Nightmare'
• 1972 – Fadervår. 'Our Father'
• 1973 – Strömkarlen: Nordisk natursymfoni nr 1. 'The Water Sprite: Nordic Nature Symphony No. 1'
• 1973 – Skräck och skratt, resor i okända världar. 'Horror and laughter, trips in unknown worlds'
• 1975 – Shangri-La
• 1975 – Johannes och huldran: Nordisk natursymfoni nr 2. 'Johannes and the Lady of the Woods: Nordic Nature Symphony No. 2'
• 1976 – Cosmic Love
• 1977 – Ralph Lundsten's Universe
• 1978 – Discophrenia
• 1979 – Alpha Ralpha Boulevard
• 1980 – Paradissymfonin. 'Paradise Symphony'
• 1981 – En midvintersaga: Nordisk natursymfoni nr 3. 'A Midwinter Saga: Nordic Nature Symphony No. 3'
• 1982 – The New Age
• 1983 – En sommarsaga: Nordisk natursymfoni nr 4 'A Summer Saga: Nordic Nature Symphony No. 4/Pop Age'
• 1984 – Trolltagen: Nordisk natursymfoni nr 5 '(Bewitched: Nordic Nature Symphony No. 5)/Dreamscape'
• 1985 – Välkommen (contains The Ages of Man). 'Welcome'
• 1986 – Fantasia by Starlight – 星夜幻想 (CD/LP/cassette published in Japan). 'Starry night fantasy'
• 1986 – The Dream Master
• 1990 – Johannes och huldran (Max von Sydow reads Gustav Sandgren's story "Johannes och huldran", accompanied by Lundsten's music) 'Johannes and the lady of the woods'
• 1992 – Drömmarnas landskap: Nordisk natursymfoni nr 6. 'Landscape of Dreams: Nordic Nature Symphony No. 6'
• 1993 – Nordic Light
• 1994 – The Joy of Being
• 1995 – In Time and Space
• 1996 – Inspiration—Sweden (contains "Landscape of Dreams" and "Our Father") (EMI Classics)
• 1996 – Årstiderna: Nordisk natursymfoni nr 7. 'The Seasons: Nordic Nature Symphony No. 7'
• 2002 – En själens vagabond. 'A Vagabond of the Soul'
• 2003 – Cosmic Phantazy
• 2004 – På drömda stigar. 'Pathways of the Mind'
• 2005 – Like the wind my longing – Classic pearls 1972–2004
• 2007 – Ut i vida världen 'Out in the Wide World': Symphonia Linnæi (Latin: Symphony of Linnaeus), Out in the Wide World, In the early Days of Summer, Song of the Mermaids, A Summer Saga (first performance)
• 2007 – Lovetopia
• 2008 – Electronic Music from the 60s and 70s (a boxed set composed of four previously released CDs)
• 2008 – Dance in the Endless Night
• 2010 – I sagans värld
• 2013 – River of Time
• 2020 – I svunnen tid