Icelandic Music in Japan
Sumartonar by Thorkell Sigurbjornsson will be performed by NHK Symphonic Orchestra on February 21 and 22 at Suntory Hall. Vladimir Ashkenazy will be the conductor.
On the occasion of the 50th years anniversary of diplomatic relations between Iceland and Japan the Symphonic Orchestra of the Japanese National Broadcasting Service will perform the composition "Sumartonar" by the Icelandic composer Thorkell Sigurbjornsson. For further information please see NHK homepage. The concert´s number is 1591.
Mr. Sigurbjornsson is one of the most prolific composer in Iceland. Mr. Sigurbjornsson was born in 1938. He studied piano playing at the Reykjavik Musical School but when he went to the US for further studies songwriting became his major. Mr. Sigurbjornsson studied at Hamline University in Minnesota and at Illinois University in Champaign-Urbana. He also took classes in songwriting in Darmstadt in Germany and in Nice in France.
In English "Sumartonar" means "Tones of Summer" and the composition is based on the composer´s youth memories from a playground at Freyjugata in the center of Reykjavik.