Sono Luminus Announces Release Of RECURRENCE By Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, April 7

Sono Luminus announces the April 7, 2017 worldwide release of Recurrence, a new recording from the Iceland Symphony Orchestra (ISO). Conducted by the ISO's Artist-in-Residence Daníel Bjarnason and recorded at Harpa in Reykjavík, Iceland this past December, Recurrence features music by Icelandic composers Bjarnason (Emergence), Thurídur Jónsdóttir (Flow and Fusion), María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir (Aequora), Anna Thorvaldsdottir (Dreaming), and Hlynur A. Vilmarsson (bd). Sono Luminus' album package for Recurrence includes both CD and Pure Audio Blu-ray with 9.1 Auro-3D, Dolby Atmos 11.1, and 5.1 DTS-MA versions, as well as the mShuttle application containing FLAC and MP3 audio files.

The release of the album coincides with the Los Angeles Philharmonic's landmark Reykjavík Festival, which is co-curated by Esa-Pekka Salonen and Bjarnason and runs from April 1-17, 2017. During the festival, the Los Angeles Philharmonic will perform Daníel Bjarnason's Emergence (April 13), Hlynur A. Vilmarsson's bd (April 13), and María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir's Aequora (April 15), all included on the new album. The festival also features the world premiere of Thurídur Jónsdóttir's Cylinder 49, commissioned by the LA Phil (April 11), and Anna Thorvaldsdottir's Hrím (April 1 & 8), Heyr þú oss himnum á (April 9), Aeriality (April 14), and Shades of Silence (April 15).

Of the music on Recurrence, Steve Smith writes in the liner notes for the album, "I reckon that I do sense Iceland's mutable skies and rugged terrain in the slow-moving luminosity of Thorvaldsdottir's Dreaming. Likewise, the static/chaotic duality in Daníel Bjarnason's shivering, rumbling Emergence evokes awesome powers coalescing in some act of primal creation. Thurídur Jónsdóttir's Flow and Fusion, with its seamless blend of acoustic and electronic sounds, conjures the ineffable chiaroscuro of Iceland's sky. María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, known best for her work in the chamber group amiina, musters rich colors and textures with a full orchestral palette for Aequora, yet never loses sight of the telling detail: a cloud's glowing nimbus, a glinting seam in a rock face, a ripple of surface tension. Even the barbaric jolts, judders, slides, and shrieks of Hlynur Aðils Vilmarsson's bd seems to suggest the seismic forces that shaped and continue to shape Iceland's profile."

"I'm thrilled about our new relationship with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra," Sono Luminus CEO Collin Rae says. "It is not only a spectacular step for all involved but also seemingly a very natural one! We look forward to bringing recordings of the ISO's impressive performances, showcasing some of today's most exciting Icelandic composers, to listeners."

Arna Kristin Einarsdottir, Managing Director of ISO adds, "To record new Icelandic music is one of the most important roles of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Through our collaboration with Sono Luminus we are able to reach further and let Icelandic music be heard."

Icelandic conductor, composer and curator Daníel Bjarnason is currently artist-in-residence with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and composer-in-residence at the Muziekgebouw Frits Philips in Eindhoven. Daníel's composing and conducting takes him around the world working with, among others, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Rambert Dance Company, Britten Sinfonia, So Percussion and the Calder Quartet. Daníel's first opera for the Danish National Opera in Aarhus, Brothers, will be premiered in August 2017. Daníel's music has been performed by conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, John Adams, André de Ridder, James Conlon, Louis Langrée and Ilan Volkov. Daníel's versatility has also led to collaborations with a broad array of musicians outside the classical field including Sigur Rós, Ben Frost and Brian Eno. More at danielbjarnason.net.

María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir is a composer and a violinist. She graduated as a violinist from the Reykjavik College of Music in 2000 and with a Bachelor's degree in composition from the Iceland Academy of the Arts in 2007. As well as composing her own music, María has performed music around the world with her band, amiina, as well as recorded and collaborated with a range of other bands and artists. María has also composed music for films and dance and her compositions have been performed in Iceland, USA, Australia and Europe. Recent work includes film scores, 1001 - for bowed metals and Aequora, commissioned by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and Sleeping Pendulum, Clockworking and Spirals, composed for the ensemble Nordic Affect.

Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir works with large sonic structures that reveal the presence of a vast variety of sustained sound materials, reflecting her sense of imaginative listening to landscapes and nature. Anna's music is frequently performed at major venues and music festivals internationally, by today's top orchestras and ensembles. The Iceland Symphony Orchestra has previously premiered and recorded several of her orchestral works, including Aeriality and Dreaming. Anna's albums, Rhízo?ma (Innova), Aerial (Deutsche Grammophon), and In the Light of Air (Sono Luminus) have all been included on "Best of" lists including those of The New York Times, National Public Radio, The New Yorker, Boston Globe, and many more. Anna is the recipient of the prestigious Nordic Council Music Prize for her work Dreaming and The New York Philharmonic's Kravis Emerging Composer Award. She holds a PhD from the University of California in San Diego.

Thurídur Jónsdóttir, composer and flutist, studied at the Reykjavík Conservatory of Music. She then moved to Italy, studying composition and electronic music at the Bologna Conservatory and with Franco Donatoni at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena and Alessandro Solbiati at the Accademia di Novara. In her works, Thurídur has frequently tackled the relationship between acoustic and electronic sounds, as illustrated in her work INNI-musica da camera for baroque violin and sound curtains of an infant murmur; Flutter for flute, orchestra and field recordings of insects; and Winter for voice and electronics. Her compositions are performed at festivals in Europe and the U.S. She has received commissions from Radio France, NDR, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, among others. Thurídur was awarded a Civitella Ranieri Music Fellowship in 2016 and nominated for the Nordic Council Music Prize in 2006, 2010, and 2012.

Hlynur Aðils Vilmarsson has enjoyed a diverse career in music, be it as a member of Icelandic rock bands or the composers' collective s.l.á.t.u.r. Infused with a passion for experimentation, his work has also extended to the realm of technology within the platform of LornaLab (Reykjavík Media Lab). Hlynur's work has earned him commissions from various groups and been performed at festivals such as the Tectonics Festival curated by conductor Ilan Volkov. In recent years, his music has been played in Europe, the U.S. and Asia, by groups including the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Brodsky String Quartet, Uusinta Chamber Ensemble, and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Recurrence | Sono Luminus | Release date: April 7, 2017
Iceland Symphony Orchestra | Daníel Bjarnason, conductor
1. Flow and Fusion by Thurídur Jónsdóttir [11:03]
2. bd by Hlynur A. Vilmarsson [11:33]
3. Aequora by María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir [12:07]
4-6. Emergence by Daníel Bjarnason [16:59]
7. Dreaming by Anna Thorvaldsdottir [15:51]
Total time: 67:30

Founded in 1950, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra is the national orchestra of Iceland. Widely praised for its performances and recordings, each year the orchestra presents a full season of subscription series, school and family concerts, and concerts devoted to modern music. Since 2011, the orchestra's home has been Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík. Yan Pascal Tortelier assumed the post of Chief Conductor in September 2016, a role previously held by conductors such as Jean-Pierre Jacquillat, Petri Sakari, Rumon Gamba, Ilan Volkov and Osmo Vänskä, who currently holds the title of Principal Guest Conductor. Vladimir Ashkenazy has conducted the orchestra regularly since the early 1970s and now holds the position of Conductor Laureate. Daníel Bjarnason is the orchestra's Artist-in-Residence and is active in a variety of roles as conductor, composer, and educator. The Iceland Symphony Orchestra has recorded for a number of international labels, including Deutsche Grammophon, BIS, Chandos, and Naxos. The orchestra's complete cycle of Sibelius symphonies under the direction of Petri Sakari was praised by critics. Most recently, the orchestra recorded the complete orchestral works of Vincent d'Indy with Rumon Gamba for the Chandos label. The first volume of the series was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance. The Iceland Symphony Orchestra has toured in Europe and the United States. Concerts abroad include appearances at the BBC Proms and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as well as two concerts in Carnegie Hall, in 1996 and again in 2000.