MENU
AboutListenWorksPerformancesPressContact

Halldór Smárason

Composer and pianist

[background image] image of an open field

About

A flexible system helping teams design and launch faster

Halldór Smárason is an Icelandic composer and pianist. His music has been performed in Iceland, across Europe and in the United States by ensembles including the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble intercontemporain, Caput and the Siggi String Quartet, with whom he has collaborated extensively. His work has also been presented at festivals including ManiFeste in Paris and Nordic Music Days.

His work often draws on stories, memories and personal experiences, with a particular focus on harmony, timbre and musical narrative. His debut portrait album, STARA, was released by Sono Luminus in 2020 and features the Siggi String Quartet and guests. His music has also appeared on recordings by Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir and Herdís Anna Jónasdóttir.

Alongside composing, Halldór performs regularly as a pianist and keyboard player. He studied composition at the Iceland University of the Arts and Manhattan School of Music as a Fulbright scholar, and later studied with Beat Furrer in Graz. He has received artist salaries from the Icelandic state, a residency at Civitella Ranieri and several nominations for the Icelandic Music Awards.

Listen

Stara
Siggi String Quartet & guests
The music of Halldór Smárason
Sono Luminus, 2020
Siggi String Quartet & guests
Listen / buy
Vernacular
Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
 O – for solo cello
Sono Luminus, 2019
Verkið er í þremur köflum: Ljós, Minni, Slokkna.
Listen / buy
Nýir vængir
Herdís Anna Jónasdóttir
Húsið mitt – for soprano and piano
2020
Platan inniheldur íslensk sönglög og Húsið mitt var samið sérstaklega fyrir Herdísi Önnu.
Listen
Permutations
Anne H. Goldberg-Baldwin
The music of Halldór Smárason
Sono Luminus, 2020
Siggi String Quartet & guests
Listen

Works

←
→

Lítið að frétta

2026
For soprano and piano · 17′
A song cycle built from email exchanges between the composer and his mother during his years as a student. Fragments of everyday news, domestic details and brief messages are taken out of their original context and reassembled into five connected movements.
Score

Flot

2026
For string quartet · 11′
Written for the Siggi String Quartet and first performed beside the geothermal swimming pool at Laugaskarð in Hveragerði. The work draws on ideas of water, floating and overlapping layers of movement.
Score

Nú

2024
For solo cello, chamber ensemble and audience · 15–20′
Created in collaboration with cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir, Nú brings improvisation into the concerto form. The solo part is largely improvised, with selected parts of the ensemble also given room to respond in real time, allowing each performance to be shaped by the players, conductor and audience.

Premiered by Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir and Caput at Dark Music Days in 2025.
Score

infinite image

2019
For symphony orchestra · 9′
Inspired by Sigurður Pálsson’s poem Þoka (Fog), the work explores the borders between the visible and invisible, the audible and inaudible. Commissioned and premiered by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.
Score

Cold hands seeking tranquility

2019
For solo piano · 15′
A work for solo piano commissioned by and dedicated to pianist Anne H. Goldberg-Baldwin. Released on her album Permutations in 2023.
Listen
Explore
The complete catalogue
Scores and further works are available through Iceland Music
→

Performances

Forthcoming

2026–27
Ísafjörður, Iceland
Afmæliskveðja
– for women’s choir and piano, 5′
Performance by Ísafjörður Women’s Choir as part of the choir’s 20th anniversary celebrations.
2026–27
Iceland
Undir píanóinu
– for solo piano, 25-30′
New work written for and performed by Halldór Smárason. Premiere details TBA.
2027
Iceland
Ljóð
– for soprano and sinfonietta, 15-20′
New work for Hallveig Rúnarsdóttir and Caput. Premiere details TBA.
2027
Iceland
New work
– for violoncello and accordion, 8-12′
New collaboration with Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir and Halldór Smárason. Premiere details TBA.

Selected past performances

28 June 2026
Hverafugl Festival, Hveragerði
Flot
– world premiere
Siggi String Quartet
18 June 2026
Við Djúpið Music Festival, Ísafjörður
Lítið að frétta
 
Herdís Anna Jónasdóttir, soprano · Halldór Smárason, piano
10–12 October 2025
Beethoven and Banjos Music Festival, USA
Sonarecom and ☉
 
Evan Premo, Halldór Smárason, Laurel Premo and Sæunn Þorsteinsdóttir
25 January 2025
Dark Music Days, Reykjavík
Nú
 – world premiere
Sæunn Þorsteinsdóttir & Caput
22 June 2024
Við Djúpið, Ísafjörður
Núna
 – world premiere
Sæunn Þorsteinsdóttir & Orchester im Treppenhaus
16 June 2024
Reykjavík Arts Festival
memories from the sewing room
 – world premiere
Cauda Collective
12 May 2023
Scandinavia House, New York
Fjallkonuljóð
 – world premiere
Siggi String Quartet
30 September 2021
Reykjavík
infinite image
 – commission & world premiere
Iceland Symphony Orchestra
20 August 2020
Harpa, Reykjavík
STARA
 – release concert
Siggi String Quartet
12 May 2023
Musiikin aika, Viitasaari
stop breathing
 – world premiere
Talea Ensemble
1 July 2016
Le CENTQUATRE-Paris, Paris
Beyond the Silver Pit
 – world premiere
Ensemble intercontemporain
13 April 2016
Eldborg, Harpa, Reykjavík
rekast
 – world premiere
Iceland Symphony Orchestra · Daníel Bjarnason, conductor