Hafliði Hallgrímsson

Hafliði Hallgrímsson (born 1941) is an Icelandic composer. He was born in Akureyri, and lived for a time in Bath, England. Hafliði was the principal cellist of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, but left that position in 1983 to pursue a full-time career as a composer. In 2008, he became composer-in-residence of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra (through 2010).^[1]

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Hafliði.

He studied violoncello in Italy with Enrico Mainardi and composition in England with Peter Maxwell Davies and Alan Bush.^[2]

In 1970, Hafliði played the (uncredited) cello solo on “Atom Heart Mother” by Pink Floyd.^{[citation needed]}

Selected compositions

• Verse I for flute and cello (1975)
• Poemi for violin and string orchestra (1983)
• Eight Pieces for wind quintet (1991)
• Intarsia for wind quintet (1992 revision of Eight Pieces for wind quintet)
• Rima for soprano and string orchestra (1994)
• Herma for cello and string orchestra (1995)
• Crucifixion for orchestra (1997)
• Mini-stories, music theatre work (1997)
• Homage to Mondrian seven pieces for piano solo, written for the Indonesian pianist Ananda Sukarlan (1995-2006)
• Passía for mezzo-soprano, tenor, choir and chamber orchestra (2001)^[3]
• Die Wält der Zwischenfälle, chamber opera (2003)
• Cello Concerto (2003)
• Dagbókarbrot (Notes from a Diary) for viola and piano, Op. 33 (2005); dedicated to the memory of Anne Frank
• Narratives from the Deep North for symphony orchestra, Op. 41 (2009)

Selected recordings

• Herma; Ombra; Rima - Smekkleysa SMK 38
• Daydreams in Numbers; Jacob’s Ladder; Strönd; Tristia; Verse I - Merlin MRFD 88101
• Four Movements for String Quartet; Offerto; Solitaire; String Quartet No 1 - Eye of the Storm EOS 5004
• Passía. Ondine ODE 1027-2 (2003)
• Cello concerto; Herma. Ondine 1133-2 (2009)