DANIEL
PI0RO
& VALGEIR
SIGURDSS0N
SATURDAY 28.09.19 / 19:15
BIO:
Inhabiting a sound world between the acoustic and the electronic, British violinist Daniel Pioro and Icelandic composer and producer Valgeir Sigurðsson come together for a set of music that draws inspiration from their shared love of textured, fractured sound, and the grey areas between noise and melody.
Their performance at Hidden Notes vol. 1 features music from Daniel’s album, Dust, Sigurðsson’s album, Dissonance, as well as new sounds just for the festival.
Daniel Pioro is rapidly gaining recognition as one of the most groundbreaking violinists of his generation.
As concerto soloist he has performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of St John’s Smith Square, the London Contemporary Orchestra, and last year he played The Lark Ascending with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at the Cheltenham Festival.
He actively promotes new music, in particular championing the music of Gerald Barry, whose Triorchic Blues he plays regularly in concert, and his repertoire includes the violin concertos by Colin Matthews and Thomas Adès. In 2015 Edmund Finnis wrote ‘Elsewhere’ for him, which he premiered at the South Bank Centre’s first DEEP∞MINIMALISM Festival, a turning point in the way he listens to sound. The nature of free-music and noise exploration has become a focal point to Daniel Pioro’s performance, and he has improvised on stage with Ilan Volkov, Yoni Silver, Okkyung Lee and Jonny Greenwood amongst others.
He works closely with the acclaimed author Michael Morpurgo, a collaboration that has created The Storyteller’s Ensemble, a group of musicians devoted to the written and spoken word.
2019/20 includes a Wigmore Hall debut recital, a new concerto by Jonny Greenwood to be premiered with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at the BBC Proms, and a new concerto written for him by Tom Coult to be premiered with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra at the Bridgewater Hall. In March 2019 his debut album, Dust, of music for solo violin and electronics was released via Bedroom Community.
Daniel Pioro plays on a violin by Christoph Götting.
Valgeir Sigurðsson is an Icelandic composer and producer, his music melds contemporary classical writing and esoteric electronic production. He has been described as “an artist who manipulates sound and expression with cerebral precision… builds and releases tension in such a way that a single note is able to tear you apart before bringing resolution back to your senses..”
Valgeir worked closely with fellow Icelander Björk, a collaboration embarked on with her Oscar-nominated score for Lars Von Trier’s Dancer In The Dark. He founded the Bedroom Community label in 2006 with Nico Muhly and Ben Frost, where he cemented his sonic signature with his own solo work on the label and collaborations including albums with Muhly, Frost, Sam Amidon and Daníel Bjarnason, as well as extensive collaboration with viola da gamba player Liam Byrne. His 4th LP Dissonance won Album of The Year at the 2018 Iceland Music Awards. Valgeir has performed his work internationally at festivals, concert halls and clubs, and The New York Times named Dissonance Live among top-fifteen shows of the 2017 Sónar Barcelona Festival. At Greenhouse Recording Studios, founded by Valgeir in 1997, he has been a collaborator with artist from all over the world, including the likes of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Feist, Tim Hecker, Anohni, CocoRosie, Hilary Hahn & Hauschka, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Víkingur Ólafsson and many others, as producer, engineer or arranger.
Valgeir has composed orchestral and chamber music for the likes of The City of London Sinfonia, The Winnipeg Symphony, The Crash Ensemble, Alarm Will Sound, Nordic Affect and Daniel Pioro. His scores frequently incorporate the use electronics and have been performed by the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, New York University Symphony Orchestra, The BBC Symphony Orchestra and many others. He has written music for stage, dance and screen. His film scores include An Acceptable Loss and the Icelandic feature The County, and his score for the environmental documentary Dreamland (Draumalandið) was nominated for best score at EDDA (the Icelandic Film Academy Awards). His collaborations with German director Falk Richter include SAFE at Stockholm’s Dramaten, and Zwei Uhr Nachts at Schauspiel Frankfurt. He produced the music for Robert Wilson’t Edda and has composed for contemporary dance productions by Ballet National Marseilles / ICK Amsterdam and The Stephen Petronio Company. He lives in Reykjavík, Iceland.