On September 15th I performed some not-so-classical music at the Classical Sundays series in the beautiful Norðurljós hall in Reykjavík’s epic concert house Harpa. I performed 2 solos - Iða, by Icelandic composer Ingibjörg Ýr, and Couleurs du Vent by Kaija Saariaho. I loved learning these two solos, which are really different in character. Iða is a gentle amble through a variety of sounds and textures, and feels very natural and instinctive to play. On the other hand Couleurs du Vent (for alto flute) pushes the flautist to explore a huge number of techniques. The piece places the wind front and centre, as the life force of the work.
Then there was a duo titled Stjörnumuldur for flute and piano written by Karólína Eiríksdóttir, performed by myself and Matthildur Anna Gísladóttir. The work has a sweet movement for piccolo which I particularly enjoy, and the first and last are virtuosic spikes of energy for both performers!
Finally we performed Several Concertos by Judith Weir, where cellist Guðný Jónasdóttir joined us on stage. This work is, in my opinion, pretty epic! It plays on what we might expect in a concerto for each of the solo instruments, and bends, stretches, elaborates or confounds these.
Check out the audio page for the Saariaho solo. Clips of the Weir will be coming soon!