Reviews

“Music and the brain, previously staged in Iceland and Sweden, is composed by Helgi R. Ingvarsson. [...] The music, in a postmodern tonal idiom, is immediately coherent and engaging.” — Yehuda Shapiro, Opera magazine, November 2022

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The music is full of emotion and is mesmerising” - Tímarit Máls og Menningar (ICE) (2022)

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“Ingvarsson’s new work made a striking impression.” - 5against4.com (2019)

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“Literature and music melted together.” - Sjællandske (Denmark) (2019)

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“The song by Ingvarsson was delicate and beautiful.” - Entertainment-focus.com (UK) (2016)

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“Ingvarsson’s music carries the composer’s strong personal style.” - Jónas Sen (2015)

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“The music is very diverse and suits the topic well, is full of emotion and mesmerising, and covers the whole spectrum of emotion from the soft strokes of the cello to the sharp pitches of the trumpet... // Tónlistin er mjög fjölbreytt og hæfir efninu vel, er tilfinningarík og seiðandi, og spannar allan tilfinningaskalann frá blíðum strokum á sellóið til hvellra tóna trompetsins...”

— critic Silja Aðalsteinsdóttir (Tímarit Máls og Menningar) about Ingvarsson's Þögnin (The Silence) opera (2022)

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“I urge all music lovers not to miss this ...”

— critic Jón Viðar Jónsson on Ingvarsson's opera Þögnin (The Silence) (2022)

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“As she sings, the soprano develops long melodic arcs with finely differentiated dynamics ... an exciting musical trip to Iceland.” — (Rannveig Káradóttir soprano's premiere of Ingvarsson's song "Fossinn minn" (My waterfall)

- Coburger Tageblatt, Germany (2021)

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“Helgi Rafn Ingvarsson’s new work Loom [or “Vefur”] [...] made a striking impression [...] The orchestra [...] struck an interesting balance between sounding individual and acting as a group.”

— 5against4.com (2019)

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“Literature and music melted together.”

— Sjællandske (Denmark) on Ingvarsson's and Gerður Kristný's Drápa (2019)

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“Helgi’s music carries the composer’s strong personal style. [...] All sorts of clever nuances were introduced and the narrative was exciting and surprising. [...] Helgi had a lot on his mind, and he went his own way in delivering his message. The frame echoed the past, but the inspiration was completely unique. I’m looking forward to see what Helgi will do in the future.”

— Jónas Sen, on Loftkastali / Castle in Air (2015)

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“Helgi’s 4.1 Earths assembled with a powerful crescendo. I particularly loved the string sections and the double bass and the piano seemed to play off one another cleverly. [...] The concluding [song], Vetrarþoka/Winter Fog, [also by Ingvarsson], […] was illuminating, delicate and beautiful.”

— Entertainment-focus.com (2016)

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