Atlantica - 01.03.2001, Qupperneq 17

A T L A N T I C A 15
airmail
Which place in Iceland holds your fondest memories?
It is impossible for me to think of what is especially important in
Iceland. I like to drive here, I like the lakes and the mountains,
but I’m not a “fondest memories” type of person. My way of
looking at things is much more widespread. The nature and peo-
ple, the climate and the atmosphere appeal to me, and I find the
people here are very egalitarian. They have lived very hard lives
in past centuries, and I believe that builds character. The
Icelanders have created a society that is the envy of many soci-
eties in the world and I have respect and admiration for them.
If you were to select the work of any composers from
any era to create a soundtrack that illustrates the
Icelandic landscape, which piece/pieces would you
choose and why?
I don’t think in such terms. Music is not a means of illustrating.
It communicates something far more elemental. The kind of
music you would be talking about would be a soundtrack for a
film, a piece of music that relies on the film to give it meaning. I
certainly wouldn’t chose any music from the great composers...
and the Icelandic landscape is so grandiose that it is like sound
itself. It doesn’t need any music.
Why do you believe music is so important in our daily
life?
Music gives us something for our spirit. It can enrich our inner
world and put us on another level.
Is that all music?
There is a lot of rubbish. The so called “pop” and “rock”. It is
ubiquitous. I don’t know if it really has a positive element. It is so
often aggressive and superficial. You need a very short attention
span for this kind of music. It is so very easily understood, boom
boom, slap, slap... not much essential communication. This kind
of music is very often aggressive, and aggression is not what we
need.
Did you listen to Björk’s album, Homogenic, for which
she collaborated with some of the Icelandic Symphony’s
musicians? How do you feel about these kinds of popu-
lar and classical music collaborations?
I don’t know Björk. I am not interested in pop music. I might have
seen her on the television screen once, but I didn’t stop to listen.
I am sorry. I know she is very important to Iceland, but to me she
is an unknown quantity.
How then do you think classical music can be made
more accessible to young people?
It is not that difficult. It is a question of education from primary
school. It only takes some effort from the beginning to draw
young people into something that is essential.
You see, what you call “classical” music I call “serious” music. A
friend of mine introduced music lessons to 12- and 13-year-old
children in Moscow. More than half of those children stayed with
the class for one, two, three years, up to graduation. They loved
these lessons, beginning with simple music, [and moving on] to
what you might call quite difficult music. And they stayed with
music all their lives, and never betrayed it.
You see, what is involved here is the whole world and all of exis-
tence. That’s not the case with “light” music. It’s just one, two,
three, gone.
Jennifer McCormack is a staff writer
...the Icelandic landscape is so grandiose that it is like sound itself.
It doesn’t need any music.“ ”(Vladimir Ashkenazy)
09-15 ATL 2/01 Airmail cmsx 20/2/01 12:47 pm Page 15