Jóhannsson, Magnús Blöndal
Jóhannsson, Magnús Blöndal
Jóhannsson, Magnús Blöndal, Icelandic conductor and composer; b. Skalar, Sept. 8, 1925. He was taken to Reykjavik as an infant, and showed a precocious musical talent. At the age of 10, he was admitted to the Reykjavík School of Music, where he studied under F. Mixa and V. Urbantschitsch (1935-37; 1939-5). He then took courses at the Juilliard School of Music in N.Y. (1947-53). He returned to Iceland in 1954 and was a staff member of the Iceland State Broadcasting Service (1956-76) as well as a conductor at the National Theater in Reykjavík (1965-72). As a composer, he was attracted to the novel resources of electronic music. His Study for Magnetic Tape and Wind Quintet (1957) was the first Icelandic work employing electronic sound. His other works include 4 Abstractions for Piano (1955), lonization for Organ (1956), Samstirni for Tape (1960), Punktar (Points) for Tape and Small Orch. (1961), 15 Minigrams for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, and Double Bass (1961), Dimensions for Violin (1961), Sonorities I-III for Piano (1961-68), Birth of an Island, tape music for the film depicting the volcanic creation of an island near Iceland (1964), Sequence, ballet for Dancers, Instruments, and Lights (1968), The Other Iceland, music from the film (1973), Adagio for Percussion, Celesta, and Strings (1980), and Solitude for Flute (1983).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire