News
August 01, 2010
Ísafold’s Spectralfest
Everything is frequency. We see different colours and hear different sounds because their frequencies vary. A whole period within the history of music is dedicated to ideas on frequencies and the physics of sounds; spectral music. The Isafold Chamber Orchestra has, in collaboration with a few of our best young video artist, created a festival of frequencies. The artist have made videos to great spectral music. These videos will be shown with live music performance, creating a experimental experience of sounds and images. The happening takes place at the Nordurpollinn, by Grotta on the 18th of August. Each video will be shown at least two times during the night, between 19:00 and 23:00. This is not a formal concert, come when you like, leave when you like. There will be soup and drinks. At 20:00. Ed Finnis, a 26 year old composer and specialist on the field will tell us about spectral ideas. A more detailed program of events will be put on the websites of artfart and the ICO in due course.
http://artfartfestivalenglish.wordpress.com
Location: Norðurpóllinn
Performance Hours
18th of August 7-11 pm
Price: 2,000 ISK with soup and a drink, 1.500 ISK without.
July 22, 2009
The Isofold CD's are now available as mp3 on gogoyoko.com
June 11, 2009
Isafold Chamber Orchestra will perform 3 concerts in the music festival "Við Djúpið" (Isafold concert dates are 20th-22nd of june). Among others are 3 new pieces by young Icelandic composers. The 3 compeosers won a competition held by the festival and Isafold, they have now written pieces for Isafold and will participate in a workshop with Danish composer Bent Sørensen to perfect their skills.
The Festival concert dates can be found here...
A concert in Reykjavík will follow the 25th of june, it will be held in Kjarvalsstaðir at 20:00 (8 pm). Price is 1.500 kr. but discount price for senior citizens and students is 1.000 kr.
December 1, 2008
Isafold Chamber Orchestra wins Kraumur Awards 2008 for the CD “All sounds to silence come”. Kraumur Awards is a music prize, organized by the Kraumur Music Fund, awarded for the best albums being released in Iceland. They are chosen by a selected panel of Icelandic music journalist and radio show hosts, with years of experience in playing and writing about Icelandic music.
July 16, 2008
- Next Concert -
Searching for Ligeti
August 08th 2008 at 8 pm
Kjarvalsstaðir (art museum in Reykjavík)
Program
György Ligeti (1923-2006)
Metamorphoses Nocturnes (String quartet)
Melodien
Pause
Six Bagatelles (Wind quintet)
Chamber Concerto
Tickets available at www.midi.is
and at the entrance
Ticket price 2.500 kr
Discount for students and seniors 1.500 kr
March 20, 2008
The ICO nominated Best Performer 2007 and Reykjavík City Music Group 2008
In January, the ICO was nominated Reykjavík’s Music Group of the year 2008 and received a handsome grant from the City’s Division of Culture and Tourism. The orchestra’s good fortune continues as it recently won Best Performer 2007 in the category of Classic and Contemporary Music at the 2008 Icelandic Music Awards held March 18th. Winners and nominees can be found at the Awards’ website here. Other nominees included one of ICO’s violinists Elfa Run Kristinsdottir and former collaborator Agust Olafsson baritone.
The ICO is honored and grateful for this award and congratulates the other winners!
December 3, 2007
Ísafold's first album was highly praised in a recent revew in the Icelandic newspaper, Morgunbladid, for its elaborate performance and compelling interpretation. The album received four stars out of five and was highly reccommended for those seeking mysterious and pristine music.
November 1, 2007
Ísafold’s first album, which was released in March, is now available at 12 Tonar's Online Shop and in all major music stores in Iceland in SACD format (Super Audio CD), which supports high quality multi-channel playback. Ísafold’s next album, including pieces by Arvo Pärt, Alfred Schnittke and a new piece by Daníel Bjarnason, is now in sound editing and is to be released in February 2008.
The ICO’s next performance will be at the Icelandic Opera, December 30th, when the ensemble will give their annual Different Vienna Concert, where Gustav Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde will be performed with singers Finnur Bjarnason, tenor, and Gudrún Jóhanna Ólafsdóttir, mezzosoprano. Further information on the concert and ticket sales will be posted here soon!
August 8, 2007
Tickets are now on sale on www.midi.is to Ísafold's two concerts in Langholtskirkja, August 15 and 16 at 20:30. The concerts are sponsored by VISA in Iceland, as Ísafold was recently awarded a grant from Visa's Culture Fund. Soloists at the Langholtskirkja concerts are Elfa Rún Kristinsdóttir violin, Bragi Bergþórsson tenor and Víkingur Heiðar Ólafsson piano, who are also previous grant recipients of the Culture Fund. The concerts' program is grandiose, including pieces by Saint-Saëns, Stravinsky, Beethoven as well as a new piece by the orchestra's conductor, Daníel Bjarnason, premiered last August 4th at the Skálholt Summer Concerts Festival. The first concert has already sold out but tickets are currently available to the second concert on Thursday, August 16th. The ticket price is 2.500 kr but VISA cardholders receive a special ticket price of 1.500 kr.
Program:
Arvo Pärt (1935): Fratres (1977)
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976): folk songs
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971): Ragtime (1917-1918)
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921): Romance op. 48 (1874)
INTERMISSION
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): "Pathétique", piano sonata no. 8 í c-minor (1797-1798)
Vaughan Williams (1872-1958): úr "On Wenlock Edge" (1908-1909)
Daníel Bjarnason (1979): All Sounds to Silence Come (2007), new piece for chamber orchestra
Ísafold Chamber Orchestra
Einleikarar: Elfa Rún Kristinsdóttir violin, Bragi Bergþórsson tenor, Víkingur Heiðar Ólafsson piano.
Conductor: Daníel Bjarnason
August 2, 2007
Ísafold is now rehearsing in Skálholt, southern Iceland, for four concerts during the upcoming weekend, which is also a national holiday in Iceland. The concerts are a part of a festival, the Skálholt Summer Concerts Festival, which takes place every summer and specializes in baroque and contemporary music. Ísafold will premiere a new piece by the ensemble's conductor, Daníel Bjarnason, who is also resident composer during this year's festival. Among other pieces on upcoming concerts are miniatures by Arvo Pärt, Iannis Xenakis, Pierre Boulez and many more. Next week the ensemble undergoes recordings for a new album which will be released by 12 Tónar early next year. Here are next weekend's dates and programs.
Saturday August 4 at 17:00: Da pacem Domine
Saturday August 4 at 21:00: In memoriam
Sunday August 5 at 15:00: Da pacem Domine
Monday August 6 at 15:00: In memoriam
Reisdent composer: Daníel Bjarnason
New piece for chamber orchestra - première.
Program:
Arvo Pärt (1935): Da pacem Domine (2004)
Salvatore Sciarrino (1947): Introduzione all’oscuro (1981)
Iannis Xenakis (1922 - 2001): O-Mega (1997)
Arvo Pärt: Fratres (1977)
Daníel Bjarnason (1979): new piece (2007)
In memoriam
Program:
Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998): Canon in memoriam Igor Stravinsky (1971)
Morton Feldman (1926-1987): For Frank O’Hara (1973)
Wolfgang Rihm (1952): Cantus firmus - in memoriam Luigi Nono (1990)
Pierre Boulez (1925): Dérive I - à Sir William Glock (1984)
Alexander Goehr (1932): „...kein Gedanke, nur ruhiger Schlaf” - in memoriam O. Messiaen (1998)
Sir Harrison Birtwistle (1934): Tombeau in memoriam Igor Stravinsky (1971)
Edison Denisov (1929-1996): Canon in memoriam Stravinski (1971)
Dmitri Smirnoff (1948): Elegie in memoriam Edison Denisov (1997)
Edison Denisov: Epitaph (1983)
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971): Epitaphium (1959)
August 1, 2007
Welcome to Ísafold CO's new website! As you can see the site has gone through some radical changes. However, the site is still under some construction and soon visitors will be able to listen to excerpts from Ísafold's new album, recently released by label 12 Tónar. Enjoy!