Today’s date in 1977 marks the birthdate of a composer whose debut release was greeted by critical raves. The New York Times noting “seemingly boundless textural imagination,” and National Public Radio hailed “one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary music.”  That debut disc was entitled “Rhízōma,” a Greek word meaning “mass of roots.” In botany it refers to a subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots. 

The roots and shoots of the composer whose works appeared on that debut seem firmly planted deep in her native Icelandic soil. Her name is Anna Thorvaldsdottir, and it’s not too fanciful to hear in her music the stark beauty of Iceland’s waterfalls, geysers, volcanoes, black sand beaches, and otherworldly lava fields.

The opening track on her debut from 2011 was a work for chamber orchestra entitled “Hrím,” the Icelandic word for “frost.”

In interview Anna Thorvaldsdottir says, “I was making up songs from an early age and studied a few different instruments before I found the cello which I became very passionate about. Then at around 19 years old I started to notate the music I had in my head and have been doing that ever since.”

Anna Thorvaldsdottir (b. 1977): Hrím (Caput Ensemble) Innova 810 (original release) and Sono Luminus Editions 70018