Emil Thoroddsen
Emil Thoroddsen (16 June 1898 – 7 July 1944) was an Icelandic composer, pianist, playwright, critic and translator. He was the chief art critic of "Morgunblaðið" newspaper from 1926–1933 and worked for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service since its establishment in 1930. Among his most widely known songs are „Íslands Hrafnistumenn“ and „Hver á sér fegra föðurland“ which was premiered at the Festival of the Republic on 17 June 1944.
Emil Thoroddsen
- Born
- 1898
- Died
- 1944
- Nationality
- Iceland
- Occupation
- composer · playwright · translator · musician
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On that day, due to rain and cold weather, Emil caught a cold, and a few days later he had developed pneumonia. His work list at the Iceland Music Information Center lists nearly 50 works of various kinds. Among the largest are a University Cantata from 1940, and a cantata composed for a competition held in 1930 to celebrate the millennium of the Icelandic Alþingi (Parliament); his cantata won second prize and was only given its first performance in 1954, at a concert at the Reykjavík National Theater in memory of Thoroddsen on the tenth anniversary of his death. His incidental music for Jón Thoroddsen's play Piltur og stúlka (A Boy and a Girl) is also frequently performed, in particular Búðarvísur and Vöggukvæði. In addition, his arrangement of the Icelandic folk song Fagurt galaði fuglinn sá is a favorite of Icelandic choirs. In his youth, Emil practiced sports among young men from his neighborhood and was involved in the creation of the football club Víkingur Reykjavik at the age of twelve, hosting the club's inaugural meeting and initially taking the role of club secretary. He later produced coverage about the club's operations and achievements.
• Hátíðarljóð 1930 (Alþing Festival Cantata), completed by Victor Urbancic (1930) • Two Icelandic folk songs for mixed choir (ca. 1930) • Piltur og stúlka, incidental music (1934) • Andante "In memoriam" for string quartet (1939) • Háskólakantata (University Cantata, 1940) • Hver á sér fegra föðurland (1944)
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Emil Thoroddsen, revision 1357238030 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 04 October 2026.
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