"Excerpt from ft.com
Orchestral concerts came late to Iceland. While large-scale works by Stravinsky and Schoenberg were being introduced in Paris and Vienna in the 1910s, audiences in Reykjavík were listening to sonatas by Beethoven played on an upright piano — the only instrument available. By the time Iceland established its own orchestra in 1950, a century after many European capitals, much of the world was moving on to rock’n’roll. But in the 21st century, no other country has reinvented the language of the symphony orchestra on such distinctive and appealing terms. Next month, the BBC Proms will spotlight María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir and Anna Thorvaldsdottir, two composers who have proved pivotal to the sudden popularity of Icelandic orchestral music. Meanwhile next spring, the Barbican in London will present a series of concerts devoted to contemporary Icelandic composers who slip easily between the worlds of concert music and film, including the late Jóhann Jóhannsson (who scored Prisoners, Sicario and Arrival) and Oscar winner Hildur Guðnadóttir (Joker, Tár). Call it the First Icelandic School — the only formative national movement in classical musical history to have emerged in the 21st century, dominated by women and heavily influenced by art pop. The figure of Björk, who once sang an avant-garde song cycle by Schönberg at the Verbier Festival, looms large. "