The Nordström Brothers: Organ Builders from Småland
Sven Nordström was the elder of the two brothers. He was born in Bälaryd (Jönköping County, in the province of Småland in southern Sweden) on the 4th of February 1801. As a teenager, he spent some years as a musician in the local military regiment. In 1831 he married Helena Lidén and the couple moved to Norra Solberga, a small village in Nässjö municipality (Jönköping County). Sven’s promising military career was interrupted because of health problems. Having always been interested in pipe organs, he decided to start a career as an organ builder. He began as a self-taught organ builder and his very first instrument was completed in 1834 and sold in the same year to the Masonic Lodge in Jönköping, where the instrument is still playable today. It is uncertain with whom he refined his skills as an organ builder. In 1855, Sven moved with his wife and children to Flisby (Jönköping County), where he dedicated himself to the art of organ building. Between 1834 and 1882, Sven Nordström built a
