Jón Ásgeirsson

Jón Ásgeirsson was born in Ísafjörður but later moved to Reykjavík and studied at the Reykjavík College of Music, where his teachers included Victor Urbancic and Jón Þórarinsson. He continued his education at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music in Glasgow, and at the Guildhall School of Music in London.^[1]

Upon returning to Iceland, he became a well-known composer and arranger, music educator, and conductor. In the 1960s, he conducted Liljukórinn, a chamber choir for which he made several arrangements that later became highly popular. He was the first music educator to be promoted to the rank of professor in Iceland. In 1996, he became a professor of music at the Icelandic Teacher's University.^[2]

His music is frequently inspired by Icelandic folk songs and folk poetry.^[3] Among works that use folk tunes are his Piano Quintet and the orchestral Lilja, based on an ancient tune. Original works in a folkloric style include his Fjórar stemmur (Four Verses) for choir, composed for the Hamrahlíð Choir in 1977. Another strain of works is written in a melodious, neo-classical vein, influenced partly by Paul Hindemith.^[4] Among these works is the substantial choral composition, Tíminn og vatnið for SATB choir.^[5]

Jón Ásgeirsson wrote the first full-length Icelandic opera, Þrymskviða (The Lay of Thrym), which was premiered at the Reykjavík Arts Festival in 1974, to positive reviews.^[6] He later wrote two additional operas: Galdra-Loftur (Loftur the Magician), premiered at the Reykjavík Arts Festival in 1996, and Möttuls saga. He also composed several concertos for various instruments, including cello, clarinet, and flute.^[1]

Jón's most popular works are songs derived from his incidental music to the play Hús skáldsins (National Theater of Iceland, 1982), based on a novel by Halldór Laxness. These include Maístjarnan (The May Star) and Hjá lygnri móðu (By a Calm Brook), which have been performed by various renowned artists, including Björk and the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge.^[7]

Jón Ásgeirsson received various honors and prizes for his work. In 1996, he was made Honorary Artist of the city of Reykjavík.^[8] In 2001, he was made a Commander of the Order of the Falcon by the president of Iceland, for his contribution to music in Iceland. He received an honorary doctorate from the Icelandic Teacher's University in 2008,^[9] and the Lifetime Achievement award at the 2019 Icelandic Music Awards.^[10] From 2020 until his death, he received an Honorary Artist Salary from the Icelandic Parliament.^[11]