Jón Leifs

Jón Leifs (May 1, 1899—July 30, 1968) was an Icelandic composer. He left Iceland in 1916 to study in Germany at the Leipzig Conservatory. He graduated in 1921 having studied piano, and then devoted his time to conducting and composing. He became successful as a conductor, and also as a writer.

He married Jewish pianist, Annie Riethof, and had two daughters, Snót and Líf. He lived in Wernigerode and subsequently in Baden-Baden. His family was harassed by the Nazis. In 1944 he moved to Sweden, and in 1945 he moved back to Iceland.

He eventually divorced his wife.

One of his daughters, Líf, drowned in a swimming accident off the coast of Sweden, and he wrote his string quartet "Vita et Mors" in her memory.

His last work, "Consolation, Intermezzo for string orchestra" was written as he was dying. He died of lung cancer in Reykjavík in 1968.

Leifs and his wife are the subjects of the film "Tears of Stone" (1995), directed by the Icelandic director Hilmar Oddsson.

Works

Leif's works include:
* "Torrek - Intermezzo" (piano piece)
* "Studies for solo violin, Op 3"
* "Trilogia piccola" (1920-1924)
* "Overture to 'Loftr', Op 10 "
* "Icelandic Folk Dances, Op 11"
* "Trois peintures abstraites, Op 44" (Þrjú óhlutræn málverk)
* "Mors et Vita, Op 21" (1st string quartet)
* "Requiem", Op 33
* "Vita et Mors, Op 36" (2nd string quartet)
* "Baldr"
* "Saga Symphony":: scored for: flute, piccolo, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons; a pair of horns, trumpets and trombones, tuba; 6 lurs, timpani, percussion, strings
* "Geysir, Op 51" (1961)
* "Hekla, Op 52" (1964) for orchestra and percussion
* "Elegy, Op 53"
* "El Greco, Op 64" (3rd string quartet)
* "Consolation, Intermezzo for string orchestra, Op 66" (1968)

References

http://www.jonleifs.is/Árni Heimir Ingólfsson, musicologist,preparing PhD at Harvard-university, USA

External links

* [http://www.jonleifs.is/english/index_e.html Jón Leifs]
* [http://www.musicalobservations.com/cp2_106_7.html Baldr]