Hear and Now - Music from Ireland and Iceland

Sara Mohr Pietsch looks West tonight with music from two Irish New Music festivals, and an investigation of the new music scene in Iceland, as well as a composer diary entry from Mira Calix and Tansy Davies. Frank Lyons: Crosstalk for improvising electric guitarist and string quartet Simon Jermyn (electric guitar) and Smith Quartet Daníel Bjarnason: Processions Halflidi Hallgrimsson: Narratives From The Deep North Víkingur Ólafsson (piano) Ulster Orchestra Daníel Bjarnason, conductor Music from Ireland and Iceland that crosses the stylistic boundaries. Frank Lyons' new piece features a part for improvising electric guitarist alongside the traditional classical ensemble of a string quartet. Lyons says: "Jazz, rock, pop, avant-garde, minimalism: elements from all of these inform my style. I also want my music to convey a sense of fun, a quality that is too often lost in the oh-so-serious world of contemporary music." 30-year-old Icelandic composer Daniel Bjarnason is no stranger to rock music, having scored strings for Icelandic artrockers Hjaltalin, and conducted Abbey Road sessions for Sigur Ros. Bjarnason's piano concerto Processions has the intensity of contemporary rock music, though it's scored for an orchestra and a grand piano - and he conducts the performance himself. The Lyons was recorded at the Sligo New music Festival in Eire, and the Ulster Orchestra concert conducted by Daniel Bjarnason was recorded at the Sonorities Festival in Belfast. Also in this programme, an audio diary from composer Tansy Davies and electronica artist Mira Calix, about their current collaboration.