DARK MUSIC DAYS in Iceland 2006
 The annual new music festival DARK MUSIC DAYS is becoming increasingly popular music event. Last year the guests were around 3000 and more are expected this year. The festival is held by the Iceland Composer Society in collaboration with most of the best performers in the country. Please click Events and you may view the program for the last three days of the festival.
Båstad Kammarmusikfestival 27 juni – 3 juli 2005
 The opera Gudrun´s Fourth Song was performed on the opening day of the swedish music festival in Båstad. The focus of the festival was on the works by the icelandic composer Haukur Tómasson, winner of the Nordic Council Music Prize 2004 for this daring opera. Among the performers was the CAPUT Ensemble from Iceland, an excellent and widely acclaimed new music group. The festival aims at mixing the old and new in music in exciting ways and this year one could enjoy the music by Tómasson, Mozart and Shostakovich among others.
You can read more about the festival http://www.bastadkammarmusik.com/index.html
Interesting music for piano performed abroad
 Tinna Thorsteinsdóttir pianist has recently been performing piano works by Mist Thorkelsdóttir, Áskell Másson, Thorsteinn Hauksson, Steingrímur Rohloff and Kolbeinn Einarsson in Germany and Denmark. The pieces were all originally written for Tinna who premiered them at the Dark Music Days festival last February. On May 5th Tinna played the opening concert of the Nordischer Klang festival in Greifswald, Germany and on May 11th she gave a recital at the Nordic Embassies in Berlin. Tinna performed Fantasiestück by Áskell Másson at a concert of Staka chamber choir on May 19th in Frederiks Bastion in Copenhagen and on May 31st Tinna played Ikarus by Steingrímur Rohloff for piano and electronic sounds at the International Ensemble Modern Akademie, Haus der Deutschen Ensemble Akademie in Frankfurt. Tinna, in cooperation with the Icelandic Embassy in China, will give two concerts in Beijing on June 17th and 18th where she will perform the Icelandic pieces as well as Chinese and Scandinavian music. For further information, visit www.annit.com
Music by Askell Masson frequently performed
Works by Askell Masson are being widely performed these days. The latest performance took place in Tromsö in Norway by Evelyn Glennie who performed Concerto for snare drum and orchestra in the beginning of February. The works of Askell Masson are regularly programmed on Glennie´s concert tours and this year she will perform solo works for percussion by Masson in churches all over Europe.
Besides this a new Concerto for Trumpet, Shadows, was performed a dozen times in Europe last year. The concerto was published last year on CD (Absolute) with Ole Edvard Antonsen on trumpet and Spanis Brass Luur Metals. http://www.spaeth-schmid.de/DE
Five works for percussion have been performed in Denmark in the last weeks and many assignments are on Masson´s agenda for the future. It is clear that his works will continue to be performed in the next months and years all around the world eventhough his works are not being frequently played in Iceland. Information on Masson and his latest works can by found at Editions Bim - http://www.editions-bim.com/composers/masson.php
ORCHESTRA B by Atli Ingólfsson 
On Friday February 11th 2005 ORCHESTRA B by Atli Ingólfsson was performed by the Munich Radio Orchestra. This is a great honour as the orchestra has a good reputation. Further information on the Munich Radio Orchestra programme can be found on:
Dark Music Days - 25th Anniversary
The comtemporary music festival, Dark Music Days, celebrates these days that it was 25 years ago that Atli Heimir Sveinsson and Thorkell Sigurbjörnsson initiated a new music festival during the darkest time of the year where composers opened their workshops to audiences. The festival has never before offered as ambitious programme, several concerts take place each day and many premieres. A record in attendance fell already on the first day of the festival which is attended by foreign guests who want to study Icelandic music today and report about their experiences at home. The festival days are from January 30th to February 6th.
Haukur Tómasson gets the Nordic Council Music Prize 2004
The icelandic composer, Haukur Tómasson, has received the Nordic Music Prize 2004 for his opera Gudrun´s Fourth Song. Haukur has been among Icelands most important composers for years and he is under constant demand for new compositions. Some of his works have already been puplished on CDs and just recently three of his concertos were recorded to be puplished soon by the BIS company. Gudrun´d Fourth Song has been puplished on a CD by BIS. See more on Nordic Council site
Paris in autumn 2004
A Cultural Festival will be held in Paris September 27. - October 10 2004. This year Icelandic culture will receive special attention under the slogan "Islande de glace & de feu" or "Iceland of ice and fire". A broad selection from the diverse and rich cultural life in Iceland is presented. The Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra will play Icelandic music in the Mogador Theatre, Ensemble Intercontemporain will perform Icelandic woodwind quintets at the Pompidou Centre, baritone Kristinn Sigmundsson will sing an Icelandic programme with pianist Jónas Ingimundarson in Théâtre du Châtelet, Schola Cantorum and cellist Bryndís Halla Gylfadóttir with Edda Erlendsdóttir on piano will perform programmes of Icelandic music, besides the famous pop group Sigurrós appearing at Grande Halle de la Villette performing "Hrafnagaldur" (The Magic of the Raven). Lectures on Iceland and Culture in Iceland will be given during this period, as well as an array of other cultural activities, such as theatre, art and photo exhibitions. Detailed information is found on www.islande-glacefeu.com
"Flow and Fusion" in the top ten list at ROSTRUM
A composition by Thurídur Jónsdóttir, was recently elected one of ten most interesting compositions at ROSTRUM in Paris in early June. Around sixty compositions, selected by radio stations in 29 countries and 4 continents, were introduced at the conference. The acknowledgement is of great importance to the young composer as her piece will be radio broadcasted in the coming months by all the radio stations participating. Flow and fusion is composed for orchestra and electronic sounds. It was commisioned by Fondazione Zucchelli in Italy and it was premiered in Bologna in February 2002. The Iceland premiere took place at the Dark Music Days festival in February 2004.
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