Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- Anna Thorvaldsdottir
METACOSMOS (2017)
- Chester Music Ltd (World)
Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic Society with the generous support of The Marie-Josée Kravis Prize for New Music.
- 4(picc.afl).2+ca.3+bcl.4+cbn/4222/3perc/str
- 14 min
- 22nd March 2023, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 23rd March 2023, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Programme Note
METACOSMOS is constructed around the natural balance between beauty and chaos – how elements can come together in (seemingly) utter chaos to create a unified, structured whole. The idea and inspiration behind the piece, which is connected as much to the human experience as to the universe, is the speculative metaphor of falling into a black hole – the unknown – with endless constellations and layers of opposing forces connecting and communicating with each other, expanding and contracting, projecting a struggle for power as the different sources pull on you and you realize that you are being drawn into a force that is beyond your control.
As with my music generally, the inspiration behind METACOSMOS is not something I am trying to describe through the piece - to me, the qualities of the music are first and foremost musical. When I am inspired by a particular element or quality, it is because I perceive it as musically interesting, and the qualities I tend to be inspired by are often structural, like proportion and flow, as well as relationships of balance between details within a larger structure, and how to move in perspective between the two — the details and the unity of the whole.
Programme note © 2017 Anna Thorvaldsdottir
As with my music generally, the inspiration behind METACOSMOS is not something I am trying to describe through the piece - to me, the qualities of the music are first and foremost musical. When I am inspired by a particular element or quality, it is because I perceive it as musically interesting, and the qualities I tend to be inspired by are often structural, like proportion and flow, as well as relationships of balance between details within a larger structure, and how to move in perspective between the two — the details and the unity of the whole.
Programme note © 2017 Anna Thorvaldsdottir
Media
Anna Thorvaldsdottir: METACOSMOS
Scores
Preview the score
Features
- Icelandic Voices
- With only a population of around 350,000, Iceland punches well above its weight in so many creative and sporting fields – not least in classical music. Some of the most up-and-coming voices in the film, media and classical, names such as Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Jóhann Jóhannsson and Hildur Guðnadóttir, have come this remote corner of the north Atlantic Ocean and created a worldwide reputation of excellence. Discover the work of three such composers, from three different generations, published by Wise Music.
Reviews
Discography
More Info
- Danish String Quartet premieres Thorvaldsdottir's Rituals
- 16th March 2023
- The Danish String Quartet premieres Rituals by Anna Thorvaldsdottir in Copenhagen on 19 March 2023
- Royal Opera House 2022/23 Season featuring premiere’s from Kaija Saariaho and Anna Thorvaldsdottir
- 5th April 2022
- Royal Opera House 2022/23 Season featuring the UK premiere of Kaija Saariaho's Innocence and a world premiere from choreographer Wayne McGregor’s features music by Anna Thorvaldsdottir.