
Photo: Anonymous Unknown author · Public domain · credits
Dag Wirén
Person · male · Sweden · Nora mountain parish · born 1905 · died 1986 · recording since 1990
Swedish composer (1905-1986)
official homepagestreamingdatabasedatabasedatabase
Listen on SpotifyYouTube Music
Also known as Dag Ivar Wirén · Wiren Dag · Wiren, Dag · 達格·維倫
Timeline
1900s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
· Debut release
Debut release: Violin Concerto / Triptych / Wind Quintet, op. 42 / String Quartet no. 5, op. 41
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
· Album
Album: String Quartet no. 2 / Quartet for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet and Violoncello / Little Serenade for Guitar Solo / String Quartet no. 5
Album
source: musicbrainz
· Album
Album: Serenade for Strings / Cello Concerto / Divertimento / Piano Concerto
Album
source: musicbrainz
2000s
· Album
Album: Sinfonietta, op. 7A / Cello Concerto, op. 10 / Romantic Suite, op. 22 from The Merchant of Venice / Symphony no. 3
Album
source: musicbrainz
2010s
· Album
Album: Sinfonietta / Serenade for Strings / Symphony no. 3 / Divertimento
Album
source: musicbrainz
Biography
Biography
Dag Ivar Wirén (15 October 1905 – 19 April 1986) was a Swedish composer. Best known for his Serenade for Strings (1937), his career was mainly spent in Stockholm, aside from a stint in Paris during his early studies.
Life and career
Wirén was born at Striberg near Nora on 15 October 1905. His father had a roller blind factory, and there were various musical activities in the family home; he took piano lessons, and was a student at the Karolinska school in Örebro, and played the bass drum and celesta in the town orchestra.
Wirén studied at the Stockholm conservatory from 1926 to 1931, which gave him much exposure to music from all periods; hearing Arthur Honegger's oratorio King David in 1927 was an important experience.
In 1932 he won the state stipend and used the award money to continue his studies in Paris, where he lived from 1931 to 1934. While there, he studied composition under the Russian composer Leonid Sabaneyev, though he said later that his constant attendance of concerts had a greater impact on his work. In Paris he met Igor Stravinsky (as well as his compatriot Gösta Nystroem) and was exposed to the music of Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev and the French composers of Les Six.
In 1934, Wirén moved to Stockholm with his bride, the Irish cellist, Noel Franks, whom he had met in Paris; their daughter, Annika, was born in 1947. In 1937, the couple set up home permanently in Danderyd, just north of Stockholm. As well as composing, Wirén regularly played his main instrument, the piano, on Swedish Radio during the 1930s; he also devoted himself to chamber music in the 1930s and 40s; although he conducted in a recording of his Sinfonietta, he hated conducting. He was music critic at the "Svenska Morgonbladet" from 1938 to 1946, and in 1947 became vice-chairman of the Society of Swedish Composers. From 1948, he spent summers on the island of Björkö, in Stockholm's archipelago. He served as a member of the board of directors of the Royal Swedish Opera from 1962 to 1971. His TV ballet Den elaka drottningen (The Evil Queen) won the 1960 Prix Italia. He also wrote the music for the Swedish entry for the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest, Annorstädes vals (Absent Friend), sung by Ingvar Wixell. He retired from composing in 1970, commenting, "One should stop in time, while one still has time to stop in time."
He died at Danderyd on 19 April 1986.
Music
Wirén's output, which ranges from serious to popular, is notable for its quality rather than quantity, and he refused to assign opus numbers to a number of his works and withdrew others. He once commented that his first desire was to entertain and please, and compose listener-friendly "modern" music. He was reluctant to write for the voice (in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest entry, Alf Henrikson wrote the lyrics after Wirén had composed the music).
Neoclassical pieces from Wirén's early Parisian period, including the Piano Trio (1933) and the Sinfonietta (1933–34), are melodically and rhythmically entertaining.
Upon his return to Sweden, he composed his first two symphonies and his most famous work, the Serenade for Strings (1937); the spirit of this serenade may also be found in the finale of his second symphony (1939). Wirén went on to compose five symphonies, concertos and other orchestral works, including music for the stage and film scores, as well as instrumental and chamber music, including a series of string quartets.
His musical style on return from Paris remained broadly neoclassical; melodic, energetic and with high spirits. Towards the mid-1940s Wirén became more serious in style, perhaps under the influence of Jean Sibelius. Wirén also developed a personal technique, first used in the third string quartet (1941–45), of gradual motivic transformation, avoiding repetition (metamorphosis technique). He pursued this approach in his third symphony (1944), where the first motif in the first movement, based on a step-wise Dorian mode progression, is transformed during the movement and then echoed in the last three movements. Motivic tautness also characterizes the deeply expressive fourth symphony (1952), as well as his rather cooler later works, including the fifth symphony (1964) and fifth string quartet (1970).
Stage
Oscarsbalen (The Oscar Ball), ballet in one act (four tableaux) (1949)
Plats på scenen (Take Your Places on the Stage), ballet (1957)
Den elaka drottningen / Snövit (The Evil Queen / Snow White), ballet (1960)
Orchestral
Symphonies
Symphony No. 2 (1939)
Symphony No. 3 (1944)
Symphony No. 4 (1952)
Symphony No. 5 (1964)
Concert Overture No. 1 (1931)
Sinfonietta in C major (1934)
Serenade for Strings (1937)
Concert Overture No. 2 (1940)
Divertimento (1957)
Concertante
Cello Concerto (1936)
Violin Concerto (1946)
Piano Concerto (1950)
Flute Concertino (1972)
Recordings
As conductor Wirén recorded his Sinfonietta in May 1948 for Cupol, reissued on Phono Suecia PSCD 79, 1995.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 14 | 70.2th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 10 | 82.3th |
| Studio albums | 8 | 88.9th |
| Awards recorded | 3 | 95.4th |
| Timeline events | 14 | 90.5th |
| Recording span (years) | -4 | 9.1th |
| Genres | 5 | 88.3th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (10 release groups · 8 studio albums)
Albums · 8
1993 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 16 tracks · 58:14
1String Quartet no. 2, op. 9: I. Tema med variationer. Andante7:462String Quartet no. 2, op. 9: II. Scherzo. Moderato ma molto ritmico6:223String Quartet no. 2, op. 9: III. Final. Prestissimo5:344Quartet for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet and Violoncello, op. 31: I. Andante – Allegro moderato – Andante4:365Quartet for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet and Violoncello, op. 31: II. Intermezzo. Vivace1:436Quartet for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet and Violoncello, op. 31: III. Lento espressivo4:317Quartet for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet and Violoncello, op. 31: IV. Tema con variazioni. Andante5:508Little Serenade for Guitar Solo, op. 39: I. Marcia1:339Little Serenade for Guitar Solo, op. 39: II. Preludium1:1510Little Serenade for Guitar Solo, op. 39: III. Solo1:1411Little Serenade for Guitar Solo, op. 39: IV. Intermezzo1:4712Little Serenade for Guitar Solo, op. 39: V. Duo lento1:3913Little Serenade for Guitar Solo, op. 39: VI. Marcia1:4114String Quartet no. 5, op. 41: I. Allegro molto – Allegro capriccioso – Tempo I3:2915String Quartet no. 5, op. 41: II. Andante espressivo5:0416String Quartet no. 5, op. 41: III. Allegro4:10Serenade for Strings / Cello Concerto / Divertimento / Piano Concerto
1996 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 14 tracks · 1:04:03
1Serenade for Strings, op. 11: Preludium3:112Serenade for Strings, op. 11: Andante espressivo3:583Serenade for Strings, op. 11: Scherzo2:534Serenade for Strings, op. 11: Marcia4:425Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, op. 10: Tempo moderato5:196Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, op. 10: Andante espressivo6:127Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, op. 10: Allegro6:148Divertimento, op. 29: Moderato3:349Divertimento, op. 29: Allegro moderato2:1210Divertimento, op. 29: Andantino3:4211Divertimento, op. 29: Allegro moderato3:0012Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, op. 26: Moderato6:5613Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, op. 26: Andante7:0114Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, op. 26: Rondo5:09Symphonies 4 & 5 / Oscarsbalen Ballet Suite
1997 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 56:46
1Symphony no. 4, op. 27: I. Tempo moderato7:492Symphony no. 4, op. 27: II. Molto vivace2:233Symphony no. 4, op. 27: III. Tempo moderato8:254Symphony no. 5, op. 38: I. Moderato7:165Symphony no. 5, op. 38: II. Andante4:386Symphony no. 5, op. 38: III. Presto2:127Symphony no. 5, op. 38: IV. Andante8:328Ballet Suite, op. 24a "Oscarsbalen": I. Overture. Allegro molto2:289Ballet Suite, op. 24a "Oscarsbalen": II. Personager. Comodo2:4510Ballet Suite, op. 24a "Oscarsbalen": III. Wienervals. Tempo di valse4:1811Ballet Suite, op. 24a "Oscarsbalen": IV. Promenad. Andante grazioso2:0312Ballet Suite, op. 24a "Oscarsbalen": V. Introduktion och polka. Moderato e comodo3:57Symphonies 2 & 3 / Concert Overtures
2000 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks · 1:05:36
1Symphony no. 2, op. 14: Allegro molto10:472Symphony no. 2, op. 14: Adagio - Allegro molto - Tempo I9:103Symphony no. 2, op. 14: Allegro - Più moto - Poco meno moto - Tempo primo - Meno mosso - Più mosso - Meno mosso10:354Sympony no. 3, op. 20: Allegro attaca subito6:045Sympony no. 3, op. 20: Adagio6:266Sympony no. 3, op. 20: Allegro molto - Poco più moto - Tempo I - Prestissimo - Poco meno moto - Poco più mosso - Più lento9:377Concert Overture no. 1, op. 2: Allegro - Meno moto - A tempo - Meno moto - A Tempo I7:508Concert Overture no. 2, op. 16: Allegro moderato5:072001 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 14 tracks · 1:11:51
1Sinfonietta, op. 7a: I. Molto adagio ed energico7:212Sinfonietta, op. 7a: II. Andante espressivo – attacca subito4:413Sinfonietta, op. 7a: III. Molto allegro6:084Konsert för violoncell och orkester, op. 10: I. Tempo moderato4:565Konsert för violoncell och orkester, op. 10: II. Andante espressivo6:106Konsert för violoncell och orkester, op. 10: III. Allegro5:387Romantisk svit ur Köpmannen i Venedig, op. 22: I. Andante espressivo “Om jag bara visste, varför jag är sorgsen!”2:048Romantisk svit ur Köpmannen i Venedig, op. 22: II. Allegretto grazioso “Vi resa till Venedig”1:259Romantisk svit ur Köpmannen i Venedig, op. 22: III. Tempo moderato, espressivo “Serenad för Jessica”2:1810Romantisk svit ur Köpmannen i Venedig, op. 22: IV. Allegro “Gyckeldans”2:0611Romantisk svit ur Köpmannen i Venedig, op. 22: V. Andante espressivo “Portias slottsorkester”3:2812Symfoni nr 3, op. 20: I. Allegro6:3613Symfoni nr 3, op. 20: II. Adagio7:3114Symfoni nr 3, op. 20: III. Allegro molto11:292005 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 15 tracks · 1:11:40
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 9: I. Tema med variationer7:52String Quartet No. 2, Op. 9: II. Scherzo6:03String Quartet No. 2, Op. 9: III. Final5:28String Quartet No. 3, Op. 18: I. Allegro Moderato5:07String Quartet No. 3, Op. 18: II. Andante, Vivace, Allegretto5:46String Quartet No. 3, Op. 18: III. Presto2:45String Quartet No. 3, Op. 18: IV. Allegro, Prestissimo5:55String Quartet No. 4, Op. 28: I. Calmo, Allegro Molto, Calmo4:53String Quartet No. 4, Op. 28: II. Intermezzo 1: Moderato2:35String Quartet No. 4, Op. 28: III. Intermezzo 2: Prestissimo1:59String Quartet No. 4, Op. 28: IV. Lento4:50String Quartet No. 4, Op. 28: V. Allegro Molto, Lento4:50String Quartet No. 5, Op. 41: I. Allegro Molto3:45String Quartet No. 5, Op. 41: II. Andante Espressivo5:26String Quartet No. 5, Op. 41: III. Allegro4:26Sinfonietta / Serenade for Strings / Symphony no. 3 / Divertimento
2018 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 14 tracks · 1:10:04
1Symphony no. 3, op. 20: I. Allegro6:382Symphony no. 3, op. 20: II. Adagio7:343Symphony no. 3, op. 20: III. Allegro molto - Poco meno moto - Poco più moto - Tempo I (Allegro molto) - Meno moto - Tempo I - Prestissimo - Poco meno moto - Poco più mosso - Più lento10:384Serenade, op. 11: I. Preludium. Allegro molto3:175Serenade, op. 11: II. Andante espressivo4:256Serenade, op. 11: III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace - Trio. Poco meno moto - Scherzo da capo senza ripresa poi la Coda - Coda3:047Serenade, op. 11: IV. Marcia. Tempo di marcia, molto ritmico4:468Divertimento, op. 29: I. Moderato – Poco più mosso – Tempo I2:589Divertimento, op. 29: II. Allegro moderato2:1810Divertimento, op. 29: III. Andantino – Poco meno moto – Subito tempo I – Meno moto3:5911Divertimento, op. 29: IV. Allegro moderato – Moderato2:4812Sinfonietta in C major, op. 7a: I. Molto allegro ed energico - Più che doppio movimento - A tempo - Più che movimento - A tempo - Meno mosso7:1213Sinfonietta in C major, op. 7a: II. Andante espressivo - Poco più lento - Lento4:2114Sinfonietta in C major, op. 7a: III. Molto allegro - Più lento - Più lento6:062018 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 15 tracks · 1:10:32
1String Quartet no. 2, op. 9: I. Theme & Variations7:472String Quartet no. 2, op. 9: II. Scherzo6:023String Quartet no. 2, op. 9: III. Finale5:074String Quartet no. 3, op. 18: I. Allegro moderato5:375String Quartet no. 3, op. 18: II. Andante - Vivace - Allegretto5:336String Quartet no. 3, op. 18: III. Presto2:447String Quartet no. 3, op. 18: IV. Allegro5:428String Quartet no. 4, op. 28: I. Calmo - Allegro molto - Calmo4:599String Quartet no. 4, op. 28: II. Intermezzo I. Moderato2:3110String Quartet no. 4, op. 28: III. Intermezzo II. Prestissimo2:0511String Quartet no. 4, op. 28: IV. Lento4:2712String Quartet no. 4, op. 28: V. Allegro molto4:5213String Quartet no. 5, op. 41: I. Allegro molto3:5114String Quartet no. 5, op. 41: II. Andante espressivo - Allegro capriccioso4:5315String Quartet no. 5, op. 41: III. Allegro4:22
Album · 2
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Violin Concerto / Triptych / Wind Quintet, op. 42 / String Quartet no. 5, op. 41Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 12 tracks · 56:571Violin Concerto, op. 23: I. Allegro moderato ma inquieto7:20 2Violin Concerto, op. 23: II. Andante espressivo6:25 3Violin Concerto, op. 23: III. Allegro molto6:35 4Triptych, op. 33: I. Tempo moderato, ma espressivo3:30 5Triptych, op. 33: II. Molto allegro2:47 6Triptych, op. 33: III. Andante espressivo – Allegro molto4:43 7Wind Quintet, op. 42: I. Moderato6:04 8Wind Quintet, op. 42: II. Adagio3:48 9Wind Quintet, op. 42: III. Allegro molto2:54 10String Quartet no. 5, op. 41: I. Allegro molto3:42 11String Quartet no. 5, op. 41: II. Andante espressivo5:03 12String Quartet no. 5, op. 41: III. Allegro4:06 | Compilation | 1990 | |
| 1991 | Swedish String QuartetsSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 16 tracks · 1:15:551String Quartet no. 3: I. Allegro moderato5:18 2String Quartet no. 3: II. Andante5:41 3String Quartet no. 3: III. Presto2:53 4String Quartet no. 3: IV. Allegro5:42 5String Quartet no. 4: I. Calmo. Allegro molto. Calmo4:35 6String Quartet no. 4: II. Intermezzo 1. Moderato2:23 7String Quartet no. 4: III. Intermezzo 2. Prestossimo1:49 8String Quartet no. 4: IV. Lento4:34 9String Quartet no. 4: V. Allegro molto, Lento4:20 10Quartetto d’archi, op. 9: I. Presentazione1:28 11Quartetto d’archi, op. 9: II. Tempo tranquillo (attacca)4:49 12Quartetto d’archi, op. 9: III. Tempo ritmico (attacca)2:40 13Quartetto d’archi, op. 9: IV. Tempo agitato (attacca)3:55 14Quartetto d’archi, op. 9: V. Tempo energico (attacca)7:10 15Quartetto d’archi, op. 9: VI. Conclusione (attacca)3:45 16Quartetto 3 per archi14:53 | Compilation | 1991 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Dag Wirén head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 14 | 70.2th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 10 | 82.3th |
| Studio albums | 8 | 88.9th |
| Awards recorded | 3 | 95.4th |
| Timeline events | 14 | 90.5th |
| Recording span (years) | -4 | 9.1th |
| Genres | 5 | 88.3th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Christ Johnson Prize | won | |
| 1975 | Kurt Atterberg Prize | won | |
| 1978 | Litteris et Artibus | won |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dag-Wiren.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/284382df-ae6d-4631-999a-ce6204f29c45discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/284382df-ae6d-4631-999a-ce6204f29c45core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1157173genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1157173seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dag_Wir%C3%A9nbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dag_Wir%C3%A9n
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
- List of Swedish musicians
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Anonymous Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q1157173 · MusicBrainz: 284382df-ae6d-4631-999a-ce6204f29c45
Similar artists
Browse every Tier 3 artist →Ranked from this record's own data: shared genre tags (rarer tags weigh more), era, home country and comparable fame. Every card lists the signals that placed it — no editorial picks.

Wilhelm Peterson-Berger
Sweden · Person
classical music · opera
2 shared genre tags · debut 1992, 2 years apart · from Sweden
20 wikis

Kurt Atterberg
Sweden · Person
classical music · opera
2 shared genre tags · debut 1988, 2 years apart · from Sweden
24 wikis
João de Sousa Carvalho
Kingdom of Portugal · Person
classical music · opera
2 shared genre tags · debut 1990, same year
14 wikis
Marius Constant
Romania · Person
classical music · opera
2 shared genre tags · debut 1988, 2 years apart
14 wikis
Pascal Collasse
France · Person
classical music · opera
2 shared genre tags · debut 1993, 3 years apart
14 wikis

Marc Blitzstein
United States · Person
classical music · opera
2 shared genre tags · debut 1991, 1 year apart
15 wikis

Erik Bergman
Finland · Person
classical music · opera
2 shared genre tags · debut 1988, 2 years apart
13 wikis

Henri Casadesus
France · Person
classical music · opera
2 shared genre tags · debut 1993, 3 years apart
13 wikis