Bjorn Olafsson - The Story in Tones (20th Century Historical Recordings From Iceland) (2020)

4Tay Records is proud to present The Story in Tones: 20th Century Historical Recordings from Iceland, some of the very first compositions by some of the first composers, the very first recordings, performed by the first generation of classically trained musicians in Iceland. The CD s producer Hlíf Sigurjónsdóttir writes, This CD is dedicated to the memory of my teacher Björn Ólafsson, violinist. It was in 2017 when I made two radio programs for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV) to celebrate Björn s 100th birthday. During that working process I found priceless recordings from the beginning of classical music making in Iceland. The composers who have compositions on this CD are from the first and second generation of composers who went abroad to study composition. All these recordings belong to the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service which was founded in 1930. That institution played a very important role in the development and growth of classical music as the sponsor, employer, the concert hall and the music educator. These recordings are the first recordings of these compositions and at the same time cover Björn s entire career. He died in Reykjavík 1984. All of these recordings come from the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service.