Jón Nordal
Choralis
Adagio · Lagnaetti · Epitafion · Leidsla
Iceland Symphony Orchestra
Johannes Gustavsson, conductor
Track listing
5 tracks · 66:34Listen to samples on selected tracks.
Jón Nordal
- 1 Choralis (1982) 13:45
- 2 Adagio for flute, harp, piano and string orchestra (1966) 10:52
- 3 Lagnaetti (1975) 12:09
- 4 Epitafion (1974) 14:38
- 5 Leidsla 15:10
About this recording
Jón Nordal (b. 1926) celebrated his 90th birthday in March 2016. Nordal is an important representative of contemporary Nordic music but the Icelandic composer has remained as a relatively unknown figure outside of his native country. The Iceland Symphony Orchestra under one of Sweden’s leading young conductors Johannes Gustavsson offer a unique glimpse into the creative world of this neglected composer with this release that contain five of his major orchestral works.
Nordal studied in Europe extensively after the war in the late 1940s and 1950s, and since 1957 participated also in summer courses in Darmstadt. This had a major impact in Nordal’s creative work. There he came personally in contact with the leading European composers and in touch with the latest trends in contemporary music. In time he created a distinguishable personal style based on a perfect compositional technique.
This recording includes a set of three orchestral pieces written in 1973–75 (Leiðsla; Epitafion; Langnætti) in the height of his creative powers, as well as an earlier orchestral work from 1966 (Adagio) and one of his masterpieces, Choralis, from 1982.
Features
Sleeve notes in English
The artists
Iceland Symphony Orchestra
Founded in 1950, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra is Iceland’s national orchestra. The orchestra has been widely praised for its performances and recordings, and each year it presents a full season of subscription concerts, school and family concerts, and concerts devoted to modern music. Vladimir Ashkenazy has conducted the orchestra regularly since the early 1970s and currently holds the position of Conductor Laureate. In September 2016, Yan Pascal Tortelier assumed the post of Principal Conductor, previously held by conductors such as Jean-Pierre Jacquillat, Petri Sakari, Rumon Gamba, Ilan Volkov, and Osmo Vänskä, who holds the title of Principal Guest Conductor. Since 2011, the orchestra’s home has been Harpa Concert Hall in downtown Reykjavík.
Johannes Gustavsson
Johannes Gustavsson is one of Sweden’s leading young conductors. He is a versatile artist and conducts both symphonic and operatic repertoire on a high level with numerous leading Scandinavian orchestras and opera companies on a regular basis, including the Swedish Radio Orchestra, Stockholm Philharmonic, the Royal Swedish Opera, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Gothenburg Opera, Oslo Philharmonic and Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra. In the present and coming seasons Johannes Gustavsson will conduct the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Sønderjylland Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra among others.