beyond the coda: Anna Þorvaldsdóttir

14/12/2024

Anna Þorvaldsdóttir

© Sophie Laly - Islande, 2012

Anna Þorvaldsdóttir, née en 1977 à Reykjavik, est une compositrice islandaise dont les oeuvres sont jouées par de nombreux orchestres internationaux. L'univers musical qui l'habite est fortement influencé par la violence et l'énergie des espaces de son île natale: "Des nappes aériennes à la frontière du son et du silence, balayées de lignes mystérieuses. Des cordes qui claquent dans de grands espaces solitaires. Des basses nébuleuses et grondantes. La musique d’Anna Thorvaldsdottir est souvent contemplative et planante..." (Patrick Leterme pour la RTBF)

"Même s'il est difficile de s'analyser, je sais qu'avoir grandi en Islande, dans un pays avec tant d'espace autour, peu de population, et une proximité permanente avec la nature, a forgé en partie ma manière de voir la musique. Notamment l'espace en musique." Anna Thorvalsdottir

© Anna Maggý / Aldeyjarfoss, Islande, 2018

Anna Sigríður Þorvaldsdóttir (Anna Thorvaldsdottir) born 11 July 1977 is an Icelandic composer. She has been called "one of Iceland's most celebrated composers" from Björk. She studied composition at Iceland Academy of the Arts (BA in Composition), and later attended the University of California, San Diego. The musical universe that inhabits it is strongly influenced by the violence and energy of the spaces of its native island.

”I know that my roots in Iceland are very strong; I always feel very Icelandic, so that is a very big part of my identity, and I think it always will be, even though I have lived abroad for many, many years. I wasn’t thinking so much about this ten or twenty years ago, but it does amplify within over time, in a sense. For example, in Iceland you can generally see quite far on the horizon and there is a lot of open space... So I can easily identify that part of myself as probably very Icelandic; all this space that I need and that I feel internally. Probably this is, in one way or another, present in my music, although it is of course very difficult for oneself to identify a musical trend and how it is translated to where you are from." Anna Thorvalsdottir (source)

"Metacosmos" - 2017 - with Iceland Symphony Orchestra