Haukur Tómasson is an Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

ic composer. He has a Masters degree from the University of California, San Diego

University of California, San Diego

The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...

. He has also attended the Reykjavík College of Music

Reykjavík College of Music

The Reykjavík College of Music is an Icelandic conservatory of music that was founded in 1930 and is the oldest surviving college of music in the country. It offers music education at intermediate, continuing, and university levels. Students graduate with a degree equivalent to a B.A. in...

, the Cologne University for Music

Hochschule für Musik Köln

The Cologne University of Music is a music college in Cologne, and Germany's largest academy of music.-History:The academy was founded by Ferdinand Hiller in 1850 as Conservatorium der Musik in Coeln...

 and the Sweelinck Conservatory of Amsterdam

Conservatorium van Amsterdam

The Conservatorium van Amsterdam is a Dutch academy of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, the city's vocational university of arts...

.

His works include six orchestral pieces, three concertos and the chamber opera Gudruns 4th Song, for which he was awarded the 2004 Nordic Council Music Prize

Nordic Council Music Prize

The Nordic Council Music Prize is awarded annually by NOMUS, the Nordic Music Committee. Every two years it is awarded for a work by a living composer...

. His orchestral piece Strati won the Icelandic National Broadcasting System Music Prize in 1993. Other prizes include the 1996 Bröste Optimism Prize and the 1998 Icelandic Music Award for Gudrun's 4th Song. His composition Saga (Fabella) for ensemble won the State Radio's 70th anniversary competition in 2000.

His music is energetic, scintillating and vibrant, combining musical imagination and technical brilliance, with unusual instrumental combinations producing remarkable colourful and complex sounds. His earliest works (Octette and Eco del passato) used Fibonacci number

Fibonacci number

In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers are the numbers in the following integer sequence:0,\;1,\;1,\;2,\;3,\;5,\;8,\;13,\;21,\;34,\;55,\;89,\;144,\; \ldots\; ....

s to determine the intervals and durations. Later works such as Spiral, Strati and Offspring use a different approach based on his so-called "spiral technique". He also started to use Icelandic folk material in his compositions in the late 1990s.

His music is recorded on BIS Records

BIS Records

BIS Records is a record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr. It is located in Åkersberga, Sweden.BIS focuses on classical music, both contemporary and early, especially works that are not already well represented by existing recordings....

, 12 Tónar

12 Tónar

12 Tónar is a small record shop in Reykjavík, Iceland, and also a record label for Icelandic indie bands. It is located on Skólavörðustígur 15, in downtown Reykjavík....

and ITM.

Compositions

The following list is from Íslensk tónverkamiðstöð:

• 1983 – Quartet – (clarinet, violin, violoncello, & piano) duration: 00:06:30
• 1984 – Trio – (violin, violoncello & piano) duration: 00:08:00
• 1985 – 5 Landscapes – (alto saxophone, bass clarinet in B/clarinet in B, horn in F, viola, & guitar) duration: 00:15:00
• 1986 – 7 Miniatures – (clarinet & piano) duration: 00:07:30
• 1986 – Birting (Illumination) – (viola) duration: 00:05:00
• 1987 – Octette – (flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, horn, viola, violoncello, piano, & percussion) duration: 00:13:00
• 1988 – Eco Del Passato – (flute & harpsichord) duration: 00:09:00
• 1988 – Ether – (violoncello) duration: 00:05:30
• 1988 – Transformations – (clarinet (B) & chamber orchestra) duration: 00:16:00
• 1989 – Quartet II – (B clarinet, violin, violoncello, & piano) duration: 00:08:30
• 1990 – Offspring – (orchestra) duration: 00:15:50
• 1991 – Attempted Unification – (wind quintet) duration: 00:17:00
• 1992 – Spiral – (13 musicians) duration: 00:17:00
• 1993 – Strati – (orchestra) duration: 00:10:00
• 1993 – Trio Animato – (clarinet in B, violoncello & double bass) duration: 00:09:00
• 1994 – Annual Ring – (orchestra) duration: 00:14:00
• 1994 – Annual Ring – (chamber orchestra) duration: 00:14:00
• 1996 – Gudrun's 4th Sang – semi-opera (8 soloists, male choir & 15 instruments) duration: 01:05:00
• 1997 – Concerto for Flute and Orchestra – (flute & orchestra) duration: 00:18:00
• 1997 – Concerto for Violin and Chamber Ensemble – (violin & chamber ensemble) duration: 00:24:30
• 1997 – Gatherings – (7 string players) duration: 00:09:00
• 1997 – Piano Trio – (violin, cello & piano) duration: 00:09:30
• 1997 – Rhyme – (orchestra) duration: 00:08:00
• 1998 – Magma – (orchestra) duration: 00:15:00
• 1998 – Rhyme – (chamber orchestra) duration: 00:08:20
• 1999 – Big Numbers – (soprano & chamber orchestra) duration: 00:23:00
• 1999 – Kopia – (flute, horn, viola, guitar (electric guitar), accordion, harpsichord & double bass) duration: 00:36:04
• 1999 – Long Shadow – (seven solo strings) duration: 00:18:00
• 2000 – Doors To Dreams – (orchestra) duration: 00:15:00
• 2000 – Fabella – (chamber orchestra) duration: 00:14:00
• 2000 – Pendulum – (cello) duration: 00:02:00
• 2001 – Flute Concerto No. 2 – (flute & orchestra) duration: 00:21:00
• 2001 – Spring Chicken – (clarinet) duration: 00:03:20
• 2002 – Long Shadow – (string quartet) duration: 00:17:00
• 2002 – Long Shadow (Six Variations on Fragments of Icelandic Folksongs) – (string quintet) duration: 00:17:00
• 2002 – Skíma – Concerto for Two Double Bass & Orchestra – Piano Reduction – (two double basses & orchestra (piano reduction)) duration: 00:17:00
• 2002 – Skíma – Concerto for Two Double Basses & Orchestra – (two double basses & orchestra) duration: 00:17:00
• 2003 – Broken Chords – (piano) duration: 00:06:00
• 2003 – String – (ensemble of 10 players) duration: 00:27:00
• 2003 – String Quartet 2003 – (string quartet) duration: 00:10:00
• 2004 – Ardente – (orchestra) duration: 00:10:00
• 2004 – Songs Of Guðrún – (soprano & chamber ensemble (2 violoncellos)) duration: 00:20:00
• 2004 – The Trap (Scene From Gudrun's 4th Song) – (orchestra)
• 2005 – Landslag Með Tíma – (choir & 8 instruments) duration: 00:06:40
• 2005 – Songs Of Gudrun – (soprano & orchestra) duration: 00:20:00
• 2005 – Trio Animato – (viola, violoncello & double bass) duration: 00:08:00
• 2005 – Vetrarkvíði – (flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, violoncello & electronics) duration: 00:08:30
• 2006 – Par – (chamber orchestra) duration: 00:23:00
• 2007 – Fögnuður – (soprano, mezzo soprano & organ)
• 2007 – Hún Er Vorið – (soprano & piano) duration: 00:02:00
• 2007 – Niður – Þytur – Brak – (soprano, accordion & 3 percussion players) duration: 00:15:00
• 2007 – Reaction – (accordion & double bass) duration: 00:09:20
• 2007 – Songs Of Gudrun – (soprano & chamber ensemble) duration: 00:20:00
• 2007 – From the Heavens fall the Fair Bright Stars – (oboe & orchestra) duration: 00:20:00

External links

• Haukur Tómasson