NÁND (english: CLOSE) is a new collector's edition album and concert programme with works for solo cello by Hugi Guðmundsson and Hafliði Hallgrímsson, performed by Sigurgeir Agnarsson, principal cellist of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.

The project began with a concert at Dark Music Days 2022 and a special presentation by Iceland Music Information Center's PODIUM program. Subsequently, it was decided to record the works and a new piece was commissioned from Hugi Guðmundsson for that occasion. A release concert will be held in Iceland in September 2025, followed by more concerts, including in Denmark, where Hugi lives, and in the UK, where Hafliði lives.

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NÁND consists of five compositions by Hugi Guðmundsson and his uncle Hafliði Hallgrímsson. They are both at the forefront of their respective generation of Icelandic composers. Sigurgeir has known both composers for years, being a school mate of Hugi since secondary school. Haflidi composed the oldest work on the program, Solitaire I,  which was composed in 1970 and has long since established itself as one of the best-known Icelandic solo works for string instruments. In 2021, he wrote Solitaire II especially for Sigurgeir and the NÁND programme.

Hugi Guðmundsson composed three works on the programme, Alluvium (2015) and Veris (2020), and Coniunctio, which was composed in 2024 especially for Sigurgeir and NÁND. All works, with the exception of Solitaire I, are now released for the first time on an album.

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Sound engineer and recording producer is Ragnheiður Jónsdóttir,  who has, among other things, worked on acclaimed recordings of Bára Gísladóttir's music and recordings of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra with Sono Luminus. Recording took place in Stykkishólmur Church in West-Iceland in June 2023 and September 2024.

 

NÁND will be released by CRESCENDO cultural management on a double vinyl album and on all major streaming services. The vinyl album will be released in a very limited edition – only 100 numbered copies – and will be accompanied by specially printed artworks by the composers. Through his career, Hafliði has worked with various media as a visual artist alongside his music making and held exhibitions, both in Iceland and abroad. Hugi has created photographic works and held his first solo exhibition in Jónshús in Copenhagen, in the spring of 2023.

 

 

The Performer

Sigurgeir Agnarsson (1976) was appointed principal cellist of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in 2017. He has had a successful and varied career as a performer, teacher and organizer of various musical events. Sigurgeir has appeared numerous times as a soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and performed at various music festivals, both in Iceland and abroad. He was the artistic director of the Reykholt Chamber Music Festival (2013-2020), one of Iceland's most established music festivals. He is a teacher at the Iceland University of the Arts and has been a teacher at the the Reykjavík College of Music since 2003. He is also chairman of the board and one of the founders of HIMA International Music Academy, which was founded in Harpa Concert Hall in 2012.

 

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The Composers

Hafliði Hallgrímsson (1941) is one of the grand names in Icelandic contemporary music. He began playing the cello at the age of eleven and from 1958 to 1962 he studied the cello at the Reykjavík College of Music. He continued his studies in London at the Royal Academy of Music and was awarded the coveted Madam Suggia Prize and the Music Prize when he graduated in 1966. After studying at RAM, he studied composition with Elizabeth Luthyens, Dr. Alan Bush and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. Hafliði enjoyed international acclaim as a cellist, both as a soloist and with renowned chamber groups, before turning entirely to composition in 1983. He has received numerous awards for his compositions, including the Nordic Council Music Prize.

 

Hugi Guðmundsson (1977) studied composition at the Reykjavík College of Music and completed a master's degree in composition from the Royal Danish Academy of Music in 2005. Hugi composes instrumental music as well as vocal and choral music including operas. He has been nominated twelve times for the Icelandic Music Awards and received the awards in 2008, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2023. Hugi's works have been performed at numerous international festivals such as Musicarama in Hong Kong S.A.R., ISCM in Croatia, MATA in New York and Nordic Music Days as well as being regularly performed in Iceland. He won the Icelandic Music Prize 2023 for The Gospel of Mary, and was nominated for the Nordic Council Music Prize 2024.