Kurt Atterberg (1887-1974) was a Swedish composer, conductor, critic and engineer, and one of the major Scandinavian symphonists of the early twentieth century. Trained initially as an engineer, he combined a technical career with an extensive musical life.

Atterberg wrote nine symphonies, concertos, operas, ballets and chamber music. His Symphony No. 6, nicknamed the Dollar Symphony after winning an international competition, brought him particular attention beyond Sweden.

His musical language is richly Romantic, often expansive and strongly coloured by Nordic atmosphere. Atterberg favoured melody, orchestral sweep and clear architecture at a time when many contemporaries were moving toward more radical modernist idioms.

That stylistic independence has sometimes left him outside the central twentieth-century narrative, but his best music has impressive conviction and craft. He remains an important voice in Swedish orchestral music, especially for listeners drawn to late Romantic symphonic landscapes.