The Piano Works of Pall Isolfsson (1893-1974) a Diverse Collection

The piano works of Páll Ísólfsson (1893-1974) form a diverse collection of twenty-six pieces that consists of nineteen character pieces, one set of variations, and six liturgical pieces. They were composed during 1920-1970, and now for the first time, the collection can be appreciated in its entirety. The premise of the book is that the piano works are sophisticated compositions and that as a collection they form an ambitious and diverse repertoire that belongs to the piano literature of the northern European and Scandinavian countries. To support this, I evaluate Ísólfsson's collection in a larger perspective that entails comparing it with similar works by other composers; furthermore, information as to the style and standing of his piano works in his native country, Iceland, is presented with the aid of a questionnaire and a list of representative works by a selection of his contemporaries; finally, the collective reception history of Ísólfsson's piano works is discussed both in light of the anti-Romantic sentiment in Iceland's music circles around the middle of the twentieth century and subsequently with regard to published reviews about performances of the collection.