Swedish composer Anders Wesström (1720-1781) had defended a thesis at Uppsala University in 1744 and he started a career in the judicial system before deciding to devote himself to music. During the 1750s he travelled to Italy and Germany, studying with no less a figure than the great violinist Giuseppe Tartini. On the return to Stockholm he became much admired as a composer of operas. Member of the court band between 1748 and 1773. Wesström ended his days in Uppsala in abject poverty.