Viktor Widqvist (1881–1952) was a Swedish composer, first and foremost of marches. At the age of 17 he began his military career by enlisting in the Svea Engineer Battalion band in Stockholm, playing tuba as well as flute. Some years later he studied at the Stockholm conservatory of music to become a violinist.
During the years 1910–1918, while serving in various military bands, he was also a concert master in several Stockholm orchestras.
In 1925 Widqvist retired from military service at the age of 44 following the Swedish government’s decision to reduce the number of military bands from 60 (!) to 34. [Today there are 3 professional military bands and 25 semi-professional Home Guard bands.]
Widqvist, being an excellent violinist as well as a tuba player, still found employment in orchestras and civilian bands. He also taught music in an elementary school.
Under the Blue and Yellow Banner was probably written when Widqvist was bandmaster of the Boden Engineer Regiment in Northern Sweden from 1918, or when he served in the Göta Engineer Regiment at Karlsborg, a fortress in south-western Sweden, from 1922 to 1925.
Over the years, Under the Blue and Yellow Banner became one of the most played Swedish marches. In 1999 it was adopted as the march of the Swedish Armed Forces. Today, it is played mainly at ceremonies and official events.
The sound clip is played by The Royal Swedish Army Band (Arméns musikkår) at a concert: YouTube . It is a perfect example of high quality euphonium playing in G flat major (6 ♭) near the top of the instrument’s normal range. Very brilliant indeed.
Transcriptions and descriptions are not AI-generated.
Set contains one score and one copy of each part, as download or on paper. Copying allowed by acquiring band for their performances only. Additional copies may be obtained from the J. W. Pepper webshop.
Viktor Widqvist (1881–1952) was a Swedish composer, first and foremost of marches. At the age of 17 he began his military career by enlisting in the Svea Engineer Battalion band in Stockholm, playing tuba as well as flute. Some years later he studied at the Stockholm conservatory of music to become a violinist.
