Anna Thorvaldsdottir
Anna Thorvaldsdottir is a prominent Icelandic composer who frequently works with large structures of sounds. Her music tends to portray a flowing world of sounds with an enigmatic lyrical atmosphere. Her passion for working with large sound worlds, that often reveal the presence of a vast variety of sustained sound materials, reflects her sense of imaginative listening to landscapes and nature.
Anna’s music is frequently performed in Europe and in the US, and has been featured at major music festivals such as Nordic Music Days and Dark Music Days. Her works have been nominated and awarded on several occasions, e.g. at Prix Europa and for the annual International Rostrum of Composers (IRC). Hrím was awarded Composition of the Year (2010) at the Icelandic Music Awards 2011 and Anna is nominated in three categories for the Icelandic Music Awards 2012, e.g. Album of the Year, for Rhízōma. Anna is a Winner of the International Music Prize for Excellence in Composition 2011.
The Iceland Symphony Orchestra has premiered and recorded four of Anna's orchestra pieces, conducted by Ilan Volkov, Christian Lindberg, Rumon Gamba, Daníel Bjarnason, and Bernharður Wilkinson. Her most recent piece for orchestra, AERIALITY, was premiered by the orchestra in HARPA, the new award-winning Reykjavik Concert Hall, on November 24th 2011, conducted by Ilan Volkov. The noted Icelandic CAPUT Ensemble has also premiered and recorded major works by Anna, conducted by Snorri Sigfús Birgisson.
Anna holds an MA and a PhD degree from the University of California in San Diego. During her studies at UCSD she primarily worked with Rand Steiger and Lei Liang, as well as with Chinary Ung, Philippe Manoury, Roger Reynolds, and percussionist Steven Schick. She received her BA degree in composition from the Iceland Academy of the Arts.
Anna’s debut portrait album - Rhízōma - was released October 25th through Innova Recordings (distributed by Naxos). The album features three larger pieces for orchestra and chamber orchestra and five shorter movements from a solo percussed piano work. The pieces are performed by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Daníel Bjarnason, the Icelandic CAPUT Ensemble, conducted by Snorri Sigfús Birgisson, and percussionist Justin DeHart. The album has been very well received, and was on a number of “Best of 2011” lists, including Steve Smith’s list at TimeOut New York and Doyle Armbrust’s list at TimeOut Chicago. Rhízōma was also listed as Icelandic Album of the Year (2011) by Árni Matthíasson at Icelandic newspaper Morgunbladid.