Magnús Blöndal Jóhannsson (8 September 1925 - 1 January 2005)
was an Icelandic composer, pianist and conductor.
Jóhannsson studied with Franz Mixa and Victor Urbancic at the
Reykjavík College of Music
The Reykjavík College of Music () is an Icelandic gymnasium (junior college) and music conservatory founded in 2017.
It was created by the merger of the graduate levels of (also known as Reykjavík College of Music) and (Conservatory of the Ic ...
(1935–7, 1939–45) and with
Bernard Wagenaar and
Marion Bauer
Marion Eugénie Bauer (15 August 1882 – 9 August 1955) was an American composer, teacher, writer, and music critic. She played an active role in shaping American musical identity in the early half of the twentieth century.
As a composer, ...
at the
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
(1947–53). He was active as
répétiteur
A (; from the French verb meaning 'to repeat, to go over, to learn, to rehearse') is an accompanist, tutor or coach of ballet dancers or opera singers. The feminine form is .
Opera
In opera, a is the person responsible for coaching singers ...
and
conductor
Conductor or conduction may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear
* Conduction aphasia, a language disorder
Mathematics
* Conductor (ring theory)
* Conductor of an abelian variety
* Cond ...
at the
Icelandic National Theater (1956–61),
and was a producer at the Icelandic State Broadcasting Service (
RÚV
Ríkisútvarpið (, ; abbr. RÚV ) is Iceland's national public broadcasting, public-service broadcasting organization.
Founded in 1930, it operates from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional centres around the count ...
) until 1974;
Jóhannsson was also a founder member of Musica Nova in 1959. After a period in the United States, (1977–87), he took up residence again in Iceland.
In the 1950s and early 60s, Jóhannsson was at the forefront of the Icelandic avant garde. His ''Fjórar abstraksjónir'' (‘'Four Abstractions’', 1950) for piano was the first Icelandic 12-note composition;
he was also a pioneer in
electronic music
Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
, composing his Elektrónísk stúdía for woodwind quintet, piano and tape in 1958.
In 1971 Jóhannsson stopped composing for almost a decade; this extended silence was eventually broken with his Adagio (1980) for strings,
celesta
The celesta () or celeste (), also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music ...
and percussion, which marks a significant stylistic shift in his music. Like the works which followed, it abandons his earlier experimental style for a more simple, neo-romantic
lyricism
Lyricism is a term used to describe a piece of art considered to have deep emotions. Its origin is found in the word ''lyric'', derived via Latin ' from the Greek ('), the adjectival form of ''lyre''. It is often employed to relate to the capab ...
.
In 1995 Jóhannson handed over his works to the
National and University Library of Iceland
( Icelandic: ; English: ''The National and University Library of Iceland'') is the national library of Iceland which also functions as the university library of the University of Iceland. The library was established on 1 December 1994 in Reykjav ...
for preservation.
References
{{Authority control
Icelandic composers