Anna Thorvaldsdottir | Major Performances Worldwide
10th October 2018
The music of Anna Thorvaldsdottir has an extraordinary capacity to capture the imagination of audiences. Whether in expansive orchestral scores such as AERIALITY and the recent METACOSMOS or more intimate pieces such as In the Light of Air and Illumine, the Icelandic composer’s music commands attention, offering the listener a glimpse of serenity in the midst of a turbulent world. Over the coming months, Thorvaldsdottir’s pieces will be performed by leading ensembles across Europe and North America, whilst portrait concerts, residencies and an album release will bring the work of this singular artist into focus.
Thorvaldsdottir will be Composer in Residence at the ZeitGenuss Festival in Karlsruhe, Germany, on October 18 – 21. Whilst in residence, the composer will work with local students and ensembles, as well as the visiting International Contemporary Ensemble, on a series of concerts of her chamber, choral and orchestral works and music by figures who have influenced her work. On March 30 Thorvaldsdottir will be the focus of a portrait concert by the Munich Chamber Orchestra and Bavarian Radio Choir conducted by Clemens Schuldt at Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne art museum.
Thorvaldsdottir’s latest orchestral work, METACOSMOS, receives its European premiere in Berlin on January 24 – 26 when it will be performed by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Alan Gilbert. The 14-minute score, which was premiered by the New York Philharmonic and Esa-Pekka Salonen earlier this year, is inspired by the precarious balance between chaos and beauty and how order can unexpectedly emerge out of apparent disarray. Subsequent performances will take place at Dark Music Days festival in Reykjavik on January 31, Musica nova Helsinki festival on February 1 and Winnipeg New Music Festival also on February 1.
Since its premiere in 2011, her orchestral work AERIALITY has been performed 30 times by 18 different ensembles around the world. Further performances are planned in the 19/20 season by the Belgian National Orchestra on October 17-20, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra on November 17 and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra’s Zaturdag Matinee series at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, on March 16. Dreaming will be performed by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra on October 12, Esprit Orchestra, Toronto, on November 28 and Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra on December 6 and 7.
Thorvaldsdottir is currently working on a large-scale orchestral work for orchestra and dancers featuring choreography by Erna Ómarsdóttir, which will be premiered by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in May 2019. AEQUA, a portrait album of her recent music performed by International Contemporary Orchestra will be released on the Sono Luminus label in November 2018.
