New York Philharmonic Gives New York Premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottir's AERIALITY

The New York premiere performances of acclaimed Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir's Aeriality will be given by the New York Philharmonic led by Music Director Alan Gilbert on May 19 and 20 at 8pm, and May 23 at 7:30pm, at Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall. The concerts pair Aeriality with the New York premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen's Wing on Wing featuring sopranos Anu Komsi and Piia Komsi and Brahms' Violin Concerto performed by Leonidas Kavakos. Anna is currently the New York Philharmonic Kravis Emerging Composer; the Philharmonic will premiere a new work commissioned from her in April 2018.

Aeriality straddles the border of symphonic music and sound art. Of the work, Anna writes, "Aeriality refers to the state of gliding through the air with nothing or little to hold on to - as if flying - and the music both portrays the feeling of absolute freedom gained from the lack of attachment and the feeling of unease generated by the same circumstances. The title draws its essence from various aspects of the meaning of the word 'aerial' and refers to the visual inspiration that such a view provides. Aeriality is also a play on words, combining the words 'aerial' and 'reality', so as to suggest two different worlds; 'reality,' the ground, and 'aerial,' the sky or the untouchable."

Aeriality is featured on Anna's acclaimed 2014 Deutsche Grammophon album, Aerial, which was featured on the 2014 "Best Of" lists of the The New Yorker, Boston Globe, iTunes Classical, and WQXR's Q2 Music among others. The Washington Post describes Aeriality as, "a big spinning planet of a work that, to echo Whitman, contains multitudes of ideas within itself, pregnant with promise from the opening whipcrack of percussion and major-key chord that keeps reasserting itself as tendrils of other sounds curl off it like smoke." The piece was recently performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic as part of its Reykjavík Festival this spring.

Anna's music is frequently performed internationally, and has been featured at many major venues and music festivals including Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, Big Ears Festival, the Composer Portraits Series at New York's Miller Theatre, Phillips Collection, ISCM World Music Days, Nordic Music Days, Ultima Festival, Klangspuren Festival, Beijing Modern Music Festival, Reykjavik Arts Festival, Tectonics, and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

Some of the orchestras and ensembles that have performed Anna's work and will feature her work in the near future include the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), BIT20, Los Angeles Percussion Quartet, Oslo Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Yarn/Wire, La Jolla Symphony, The Crossing, LA Philharmonic, Ensemble Intercontemporain, San Francisco Chamber Players, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Musiques Nouvelles, NDR Symphony Orchestra, CAPUT Ensemble, and Either/Or Ensemble.

Anna's debut portrait album, Rhíz?ma, was released in October 2011 through Innova Recordings and was very well received, appearing on a number of "Best of 2011" lists including Time Out New York and Time Out Chicago. In the Light of Air was released by Sono Luminus in August 2015, performed by ICE, and was included on many "Best of 2015" lists including those of The New York Times, The New Yorker, Boston Globe, and NPR Music's 50 Favorite Albums across all genres.

Anna was recently the featured composer of Q2 Music's Peabody-winning program Meet the Composer, Episode #9 Anna Thorvaldsdottir: Composing Is Second Nature. The episode, hosted by Nadia Sirota, takes the listener on a journey through Anna's childhood in a remote village in Iceland, through her emigration to California, and into her compositional process.

Anna holds a PhD from the University of California in San Diego. When not engaged in music-related activities, she may be found doing yoga or walking in nature, seeking inspiration for music and life. Anna is married to Hrafn Ásgeirsson, PhD in philosophy, avant-garde saxophone player, and recreational photographer. For more information, visit www.annathorvalds.com.

Photo credit: Saga Sigurdardottir