Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Iceland

Leading International Composers

April 14, 2016, 6:30 PM

Music Room

This season, Phillips Music broadens its scope to create Leading International Composers. Anna Thorvaldsdottir works with large sonic structures that tend to reveal the presence of a vast variety of sustained sound materials.

Artist Images

Program

Anna Thorvaldsdottir ( b. 1977) is a composer who frequently works with large sonic structures that tend to reveal the presence of a vast variety of sustained sound materials, reflecting her imaginative listening to landscapes and nature. Her music portrays a flowing world of sounds with an enigmatic lyrical atmosphere.

Thorvaldsdottir’s music is frequently performed internationally, and has been featured at major venues and festivals such as Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, the Composer Portraits Series at New York’s Miller Theatre, ISCM World Music Days, Norway’s Ultima Festival, Klangspuren Festival, Beijing Modern Music Festival, Reykjavik Arts Festival, Tectonics, and the Kennedy Center. Her works have received many nominations and awards—most notably the prestigious 2012 Nordic Council Music Prize for her work Dreaming, and The New York Philharmonic’s Kravis Emerging Composer Award. Her portrait album Aerial was released in November 2014.

Thorvaldsdottir has selected the acclaimed International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) to perform a concert of her chamber music.

PROGRAM

The Music of Anna Thorvaldsdottir
Performed by International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)

Hidden – Inwards & Hidden – Rain performed as the audience enters
Hidden – External
Transitions
Scape
Shades of Silence
Hidden – Past and Present
Trajectories
Ró

About the Composer

Anna Thorvaldsdottir is a composer who frequently works with large sonic structures that tend to reveal the presence of a vast variety of sustained sound materials, reflecting her sense of imaginative listening to landscapes and nature. Her music tends to portray a flowing world of sounds with an enigmatic lyrical atmosphere.

Thorvaldsdottir’s music is frequently performed internationally, and has been featured at several major venues and music festivals such as Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival in NYC, the Composer Portraits Series at NYC’s Miller Theatre, ISCM World Music Days, Nordic Music Days, Ultima Festival, Klangspuren Festival, Beijing Modern Music Festival, Reykjavik Arts Festival, Tectonics, and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Her works have been nominated and awarded on many occasions, most notably, Thorvaldsdottir is the recipient of the prestigious Nordic Council Music Prize 2012 for her work Dreaming, and The New York Philharmonic’s Kravis Emerging Composer Award.

Some of the orchestras and ensembles that Thorvaldsdottir has worked with include International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), BIT20, Musiques Nouvelles, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Yarn/Wire, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the CAPUT Ensemble, the Oslo Philharmonic, and Either/Or Ensemble.

Thorvaldsdottir holds a PhD from the University of California in San Diego.

Artist website

The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), described by the New York Times as “one of the most accomplished and adventurous groups in new music,” is dedicated to reshaping the way music is created and experienced. With a modular makeup of 35 leading instrumentalists, performing in forces ranging from solos to large ensembles, ICE functions as performer, presenter, and educator, advancing the music of our time by developing innovative new works and new strategies for audience engagement. ICE redefines concert music as it brings together new work and new listeners in the 21st century.

Alice Teyssier, flute
Campbell MacDonald, clarinet
Joshua Modney, violin
Gabriela Diaz, violin
Wendy Richman, viola
Michael Nicolas, cello
Ross Karre, percussion
Cory Smythe, piano

ICE website

Watch & Listen

Anna Thorvaldsdottir speaks about her work and the experiences that inspire her.