I only found out a few days ago that my record Horpma that came out in 2011, was number 17 on an end of year avant list in SPIN Magazine that same year.

 

 

 

 Quite surprising as I didn’t even know there was such a thing as an avant list in SPIN magazine. It is quite an interesting read. I hope I´m allowed to quote the thing on Horpma:

17. Guðmundur Steinn Gunnarsson, Horpma
A pointillist st-st-st-st-stroke from an Icelandic composer whose Autechresque sense of rhythm blurs the lines between organized, random, and sheer madness. He makes a 27-instrument ensemble sound like rain falling on a Guitar Center.

 

 

 

 My concerto for this instrument:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

was recently premiered in Harpa concert Hall in Reykjavík as part of Nordic Music Days. It was performed by the Caput Ensemble and soloist Berglind María Tómasdóttir. The concert was played on the radio, not only in Iceland but is featured in the radio program Jetzt Musik on:

SWR2

In Southwest Germany. Many thanks.

 

 

Finally, finally, finally, 8 years after the initial attempt –  one can buy a score by myself at the Icelandic Music Information Center. The nature of my scores has proven to be quite a headache for various establishments in Iceland and various establishments elsewhere as well. Despite how conservative looking they have become compared to the majority of what’s happening in the emerging international animated notation field. 

But soon there will be more pieces coming up. I will have a piece on a concert by Duo Harpverk in Cafe Rosenberg in Reykjavík this evening and I will celebrate there for those that are in Reykjavík and would like to join me. I hope this opens the doorway to have the stuff we’ve been doing for the last 11 years documented officially, finally. I´m happy.

This is part of a performance me and artist, dancer, gallerist and electrician Birgir Sigurðsson did at Bjarki Bragason’s gallery, titled ca. 1715 on last weekend.

 

 

 

 

The idea behind the gallery is based around a piece of furniture dating from ca. 1715 that came to Iceland during the Second World War from Britain but originated in Portugal in the Baroque era.  This was quite clearly contrasted with Birgir’s skills toolkits as an electrician.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birgir Sigurðsson has also been known to turn is apartment in Hafnarfjörður into a gallery so this was a good pairing on every axis. Here there’s a audio example of what went on:

Below is a 5 minute excerpt from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s performance of my piece Sporgýla from 4th of October last year (2014) on Ilan Volkov’s concert titled New Icelandic Voices in the Hear and Now series on BBC.  It is for 36 soloists in 6 groups which in this case were spread across the hall and directed by animated scores. In it one can also hear the alternative clarinet barrels designed by Halldór Úlfarsson and Stefán Ólafur Ólafsson. The piece was broadcasted on January 3rd on BBC 3.

 

 

 

 

 

There were reviews in the Guardian and the Scotsman. The broadcast can be heard here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hafið & Örninn or suite nr. 2 for Halldorophone has just been posted on his site in a nice video with photographs and bits from the score:

 

http://www.halldorulfarsson.info/

 

The piece was premiered by Markus Hohti on October 19th in Hafnarborg Museum in Hafnarfjörður, Iceland as part of the Hljóðön concert series organized by Þráinn Hjálmarsson. I am very happy with this performance and the video is very tasteful in my opinion. Thank you Dóri and thank you Markus and thank you Þráinn.

 

I intend to add a few more of these in the next couple of weeks. Still figuring out which methods are best to render these. But here are score examples from two pieces from 2011 and 2012. Enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My band Fersteinn did a little tour on the European continent last summer (June/July 2014).

 

 

 

We performed in Brussels, Basel, Rotterdam, Essen, Bonn and Düsseldorf.

 

 

We performed in concerts which also featured performances with people like cellist Sue Schlotte,  turntablist Marc Matter, vegateblist and computerist Jörg Piringer, clarinetist Kyusang Jeong, and the unpredictable Gerhard Stäbler and Kunsu Shim. Also Alexander Brener and Barbara Schurz who undressed and well . . . I´ll tell you later.

 

 

 

I loved all of those places and we met a lot of interesting people and left some of these behind (see contact section  for questions on these:

 

 

Some of the concerts were in places were people were accustomed to improvised music, others more toward performance art and also new music generally speaking. Naturally speaking we also performed with circus acts and other types of performance artists:

https://youtu.be/TdRpbP3cAgY

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday (18th of July) I will be performing with this gentleman:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

along with other gentle and nice people such as his wife Heike Liss who will be doing visual scores and etc that I´m very excited about. Also the Danish refugee Jesper Pedersen will perform, the multi-disciplinary artist Páll Ivan frá Eiðum and Þráinn Hjálmarsson. Fred Frith is also performing along with Heike the previous evening (Friday July 17th). Do not take this lightly.