Anna Thorvaldsdottir Essentials

Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s mesmerising, meticulously orchestrated soundscapes oscillate between fragile beauty and overwhelming power. Doubtless, the vast, primeval landscapes of her homeland inspire her music, which often progresses, like volcanic lava, with an organic and unrelenting momentum. This playlist introduces us to Thorvaldsdottir’s universe, from her ethereal 2008 orchestral work Dreaming to the dramatic, otherwordly Catamorphosis that won Thorvaldsdottir the Ivor Novello Award for Large Scale Composition in 2021. The final four tracks are given over to In the Light of Air (2014), a far-reaching, complex meditation on the natural world.