Halldór Smárason

Composer and pianist

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About

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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.

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Stara
Siggi String Quartet & guests
The music of Halldór Smárason
Sono Luminus, 2020
Siggi String Quartet & guests
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Vernacular
Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
 O – for solo cello
Sono Luminus, 2019
Verkið er í þremur köflum: Ljós, Minni, Slokkna.
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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.
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Permutations
Anne H. Goldberg-Baldwin
The music of Halldór Smárason
Sono Luminus, 2020
Siggi String Quartet & guests
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Works

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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.
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The complete catalogue
Scores and further works are available through Iceland Music
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