Press on In the Light of Air
“Ms. Thorvaldsdottir’s music conjures unseen worlds.”
Will Robin, The New York Times
Full review here
“In the Light of Air might sound like it's the aural soul of Iceland... This album is a good way to hear the magic of a faraway place and get a sense of a fascinating young composer on the rise.”
Tom Huizenga, NPR Music
Full feature here
“Throughout the album, [Thorvaldsdottir’s] subtle timbral nuances, poetic textures, and lyrical gestures immerse the listener in austere, somber, and utterly spellbinding soundscapes.”
Maggie Molloy, Second Inversion
Full review here
“The pregnant repetitions of notes, eerie glides along the strings, the harp’s piquant fall: they all become strangely, even disturbingly, alluring, their gathered patterns distilling an unusual blend of calm and unease: Thorvaldsdottír awakens slumbering mysteries.”
Thomas May, Memeteria
Full review here
“Thorvaldsdottir’s compositions combine abstraction, a keen use of space and the sonic field, drones, ritualistic percussion, and surprisingly lush melodies. … [Aerial and In the Light of Air] demonstrate the vastness of Thorvaldsdottir’s compositional imagination and sonic universe.”
Phil Freeman, Burning Ambulance
Full review here
"In the Light of Air is another jewel in the crown of Thorvaldsdottir, who is quickly becoming one of the globe’s greatest composers. The future of modern composition is safe in her hands."
Richard Allen, A Closer Listen
Full review here
“The Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottír is having a moment, complete with spotlight in the New York Times’ classical pages. That’s not all: Last year, she became part of the venerable Deutsche Grammophon label’s roster, and early in 2015, the New York Philharmonic named her an “emerging composer”...”
Seth Colter Walls, Rhapsody, “Artist Spotlight” feature
Full feature here
“Like a story of understanding, of recognition, these dark ruminations are never about confusion or despair as much as they’re about acceptance and recognition. You feel more complete at the end of one of her works, more whole. You feel sorted, as if the raw materials of her work have been your worries, your needs, your longings, not hers.”
Porter Anderson, Thought Catalog interview
Full interview here
“[N]ot only can Thorvaldsdottir express the vast, emotional material of open space, but she understands its blueprints.”
Elena Saavedra Buckley, Q2 Music, Album of the Week
Full feature here
Alex Ross, The Rest is Noise, recommended new CDs - August 2015
“This spacious, bold work feels like it’s floating across your senses like windswept snow.”
Robert Ham, Nordic Spotlight
Full feature here
“...a highly engaging listening experience.”
Stephen Smoliar, The Examiner
Full review here
“Anna Thorvaldsdottir has given us considerable beauty and great depth in this program. She is a special creative force and one most definitely to watch in the contemporary music world going forward.”
Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review
Full review here
“This is a wonderfully cohesive work that is full of subtle colours and textures, brilliantly played by ICE.”
Bruce Reader, The Classical Reviewer
Full review here
“Thorvaldsdottir deploys her drones in surprising and expressive contexts, illuminating the idea behind each section clearly and with style, grounding each piece in rich earth.”
Steve Hicken, [listen]
Full feature here
“exceptional recording”
Paula Edelstein, AXS
Full review here
“Thorvaldsdottir’s music holds the unique distinction of being as compelling in headphones as it is on stage. Vast panoramas are fashioned from primarily traditional instruments and savvy, composer-produced mixes on recordings, and the experience is simultaneously intimate and startlingly immense.”
Doyle Armbrust, Q2 Music, Artist Profile
Full feature here