When Páll Ísólfsson returned to Iceland in the early 1920s, Reykjavík had a population of only around 18,000, and classical music was not widely known, though choral traditions were strong.
Composer Biography
Páll Ísólfsson dedicated his fifty-year career to developing classical music in Iceland, founding the Reykjavík College of Music and the Reykjavík Philharmonic Society.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Páll Ísólfsson's piano works are rooted in 19th-century German Romanticism, continuing the traditions of masters like Reger, Grieg, and J.S. Bach, rather than seeking originality.
Composition History
The Variations on a song by Ísólfur Pálsson, Páll Ísólfsson's most personal composition, is a musical tribute to his father, who was also his first music teacher.
Critical Reception
Páll Ísólfsson was considered one of the best Bach interpreters of his time, and his LP recordings in the early 1960s were well-received by critics, comparing him favorably to contemporary organists.
Composer Biography
Páll Ísólfsson, born in 1893, received more music education and experience than any Icelander before him, studying at the Royal Conservatory in Leipzig and in Paris.
Performer Biography
Pianist Nína-Margrét Grímsdóttir, a founder member of the Iceland Trio, is completing her doctoral degree with a dissertation on the piano works of Dr. Páll Ísólfsson.
You might also enjoy...
Lara por Abraham Barrerra
Nostalgias Argentinas
Soler, J.: Piano Sonata No. 3 / Partita
Soler, J.: Piano Sonata No. 3 / Partita
K.A. Hermann: Complete Piano Music
Marchand: Oeuvres pour piano
Piano Music - Sigurbjornsson, T. / Ingolfsson, A. / Tomasson, H. / Sveinsson, A. / Urbancic, V. / Vidar, J. / Hallgrimsson, H.
Montsalvatge: Piano Music, Vol. 1
Kálmán: Lieder
Gade: Waltzes, Tangos and Cinema Music
Miramontes: Preludios, Miniaturas Mexicanas & Música de Salón
Turina: Piano Music, Vol. 12
Tosatti: Complete Piano Works
Pure Imagination: Great Songs from the Stage and Screen
