Synopsis for 6 instruments (2020)
from " Nine comments to Beethoven's symphonies"

Ensemble Assonance
Narek Avagyan, flute
Arsen Grigoryan, clarinet
Ani Karapetyan, violin
Mary Dolmazyan, viola
Mikayel Navasardyan, cello
Artur Avanesov, piano
Artur Akshelyan, direction

Synopsis for 6 instruments (2020) Ensemble Assonance

...while they were watching... (2014)

I wanted to make a vibrant, colorful piece, but instead I realized I was writing a nightmare. 
I can't think of anything more nightmarish than being in a terrible situation while others watching without acting.

ensemble proton bern

Dirigent - Matthias Kuhn
Flöte & Altflöte - Bettina Berger
Oboe & Lupophon - Martin Bliggenstorfer
Klarinette - Nils Kohler
Bass- & Kontrabassklarinette - Richard Haynes
Fagott & Kontrafagot - Elise Jacoberger
Horn - Deepa Goonetilleke
Trompete - Paul Hübner
Posaune - Kevin Austin
Tuba - Simon Lamothe-Falardeau
Harfe - Vera Schnider
Violine - Maximilian Haft
Violine - Mark Menzies
Viola - Laurent Camatte
Violoncello - Jan-Filip Ťupa
Kontrabass - Caleb Salgado

www.ensembleproton.ch

...while they were watching...

memories from the sewing room, for string trio.

Premiere by Cauda Collective. Written for Cauda Collective, Reykjavík Art Festival and Við Djúpið Music Festival.

Háteigskirkja, Reykjavík, Iceland.
Sunday, June 16th 2024.

Recording: Georg Magnússon, RÚV (The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service).

memories from the sewing room (2024)

55555 (2008) for chamber orchestra

For accordion and sinfonietta
Andreas Angell - accordion
Christian Eggen - conductor
Students from the Norwegian Academy of Music

Recording from the world premiere, 15th february 2017, Lindemansalen, The Norwegian Academy of Music

(forthwith a change came over the waters) and the serenity became less brilliant but more profound

Musica Vitae, with conductor Michael Bartosch, perform Seeking Amethyst by Sigurður Árni Jónsson. Performed and recorded in Utvandrarnas Hus, Växjö, on May 13 2016.

www.sajonsson.com

www.facebook.com/sigurdurarnijonsson

www.musicavitae.com

www.facebook.com/musicavitaeswe/

Seeking Amethyst (for 15 string players 2016)

Akvocirkulado was co-commissioned by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Iceland Music Information Centre as a part of the YRKJA project in 2017-18. 

The title of the work, "Akvocirkulado", comes from Esperanto, meaning “water cycle”, thus referring to the continuous movement of water on our planet: from the ocean it evaporates to the atmosphere, then rains back to the ground, and eventually flows down the streams and rivers, back to the ocean. – This is the process that I try to depict in the music.

First performance:
YRKJA - uppskerutónleikar
January 26, 2018 at 12:00
Norðurljós, Harpa, Reykjavík, Iceland
Iceland Symphony Orchestra, cond. Daníel Bjarnason

Yrkja III - uppskerutónleikar

Akvocirkulado (2018)

´the worlds within out petty voids´ for flute, oboe, violin, viola and cello.

Written for and premiered by ensemble recherche.

Recorded by Chloe Deng.

the worlds within our petty voids

Lyngormur, eftir Þórð Hallgrímsson
-Flytjandi: Herdís Ágústa Linnet

Lyngormur

Sarah Brady, alto flute
Premiered at the Cortona Sessions Virtual Premiere Concert, August 19, 2020

Whether it be the tides of the Pacific Ocean, the roar of the waterfall Dettifoss in Iceland, or the serenity of the Amazon River, large bodies of water are treasured in every culture. Yet there is also beauty in water in its smaller forms – a small stream, a tiny trickle, or even simply a drop - which help create these aquatic wonders of the world. "The whispering voice of water" is a celebration of these smaller forms; beginning from a single note bordered by silence, the piece evolves into a stream of pitches spanning the full range of the alto flute.

The whispering voice of water for alto flute

Gísli Magnússon is a composer and music theory teacher from Reykjavík, Iceland. He frequently seeks inspiration in the nature of his home country, and in some of his works he deliberately depicts natural phenomena, such as waterfalls, lava-fields and geysers. A recurring element in his music are diverse and colourful sound textures which he creates by combining various instrumental effects and extended techniques. 

Gísli studied composition at the Iceland Academy of the Arts and later at the Amsterdam Conservatory, where he finished his master's studies in 2017. His main composition teacher's were Gunnar A. Kristinsson, Hróðmar I. Sigurbjörnsson, Atli Ingólfsson, Joël Bons, Willem Jeths and Wim Henderickx. Gísli has also had private lessons and masterclasses with composers such as Kaija Saariaho, Francisco Filidei and Fabien Lévy.

In 2015, Gísli’s first orchestral piece, Strokkur, was recorded by Ed Spanjaard and the CvA symphony orchestra and in 2017, he was selected for Yrkja, a workshop for young composers with Daniel Bjarnason and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, which led to the premiere of his second orchestral piece, Akvocirkulado. Furthermore, Gísli has participated in workshops with ensembles like Duo Harpverk (IS), Uusinta Ensemble (FI) and 4x5 Duo (US) and artists such as Estelí Gomez and Maurizio Longoni. His music has been played in various festivals in Iceland and abroad, including Nordic Music Days (IS), Dark Music Days (IS), Ung Nordisk Musik (SE & NO), Musiikin Aika (FI) and Rondò in Monferrato (IT). Other performers of his music include Caput Ensemble (IS), Elja Ensemble (IS), Jökla Ensemble (IS), Kompass Ensemble (DE), Tempo Ensemble (US) and Orquestra Filarmônica da UFPR (BR). Occasionally, Gísli performs his own music, either as a pianist or, less commonly, as a harpsichordist.

Akvocirkulado (2018)

Gísli Magnússon

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