Finnur-Karlsson

Finnur Karlsson (b. 1988) (IS)

Finnur Karlsson (b. 1988) graduated with a bachelor’s degree in composition from the Iceland Academy of the Arts in the spring of 2012 and a master’s degree from the Royal Danish Academy of Music in the spring of 2015. Finnur’s main teachers in composition have been Hans Abrahamsen, Niels Rosing-Schow, Úlfar Ingi Haraldsson and Atli Ingólfsson.

Finnur’s music has been performed by ensembles such as Brák Baroque Band, Copenhagen Phil, Iceland Amateur Symphony Orchestra, Elektra Ensemble, Ventus, Decoda, Caput and Slowind. His music has also been featured on festivals such as Skálholt Summer Concerts, Við Djúpið, Ung Nordisk Musik, Pulsar, Upp rís úr rafinu and Sonic festival.

Finnur, along with Bára Gísladóttir, Halldór Smárason, Haukur Þór Harðarson and Petter Ekman, is a member of the composer collective Errata.

finnurkarlsson.com

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PROGRAM NOTE:

Fold was commissioned by Skálholt Summer Concerts for their 2015 season, where I was a composer in residence. The piece was written for Brák Baroque band, led by Elfa Rún Kristinsdóttir.

A part of the commission was that the piece be performed on period instruments. That, coupled with the fact that the rest of the program was baroque music, led me to consider, in greater depth, the history of the instruments and the context my piece would be premiered in. Each of the movements is therefore a kind of contemplation about different aspects of baroque music. The piece is in four short movements; I – Prelude, II – Hægt og sígandi (e. Slow and Steady), III – Mynstur (e. Pattern) and IV – Passacaglia.
The piece was nominated for the Icelandic Music Prize 2015 in the category Work of the Year.

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