Lecture // Kolbeinn Bjarnason - An "uncultivated" performance

An "uncultivated" performance
_{Lecture at the Music Department
March 5th at 12:45 PM
Lecturer: Kobeinn Bjarnason
-- Live stream here --}

_{Due to restrictions we ask all guests to register attendance here. Please note that there are limeted seets available.} 

Kolbeinn Bjarnason will talk about how a composer will imagine a sound in his head, how he writes it down on paper, how the performer brings it to live and how the listener might possibly perceive it. Point of reference will be Brian Ferneyhough´s Cassandra´s Dream Song for solo flute (1970) but other pieces, which also go to extremes in creating a new world of instrumental sound, will be discussed.

Biography

Kolbeinn Bjarnason studied philosophy and literature at The Icelandic University and flute at Reykjavík College of Music. He graduated from R.C.M in 1979 and continued his studies with a.o. Manuela Wiesler in Reykjavík and leading American avant-garde flutists, Robert Dick and Harvey Sollberger in New York.

As flautist he has performed in Europe, America and Japan, premiered new pieces and worked with such disparate composers as Toshio Hosokawa, Hiroyuki Itoh, Brian Ferneyhough, Doina Rotaru and Simon Mawhinney to name but a few. His recordings of the flute music of Hosokawa (Naxos 2010) and Ferneyhough (Bridge 2002) have received international acclaim.Kolbeinn is co-founder of Caput ensemble. Leaving the flute behind Bjarnason devotes now his energy to composition. He finished his M.A. degree in composition from Iceland Academy of the Arts in 2013.His music has been performed by various ensembles and soloists including The Hamrahlid Choir, Duo Harpverk, Elektra ensemble, Junko Yamamoto and New Juilliard Ensemble.