Erna Vala ARNARDÓTTIR

24 August 1995

Iceland

She started her music studies in her hometown, Reykjavík, when she was seven years old, under the instruction of Ásrún Inga Kondrup. From 2013 until 2016 she learned at Iceland University of the Arts with Péter Máté, after she obtained her master’s degree at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland in 2019. She has been accepted to Thornton School of Music at University of Southern California as a doctoral candidate, starting in autumn 2019 with Bernadene Blaha on a Fulbright Grant. Erna Vala Arnardóttir has won numerous awards and competitions in Iceland and Finland, as well as receiving many scholarships and grants. She studied with Megumi Masaki, Paul Roberts, Charles Owen, Robert McDonald, Julian Martin, Boris Berman, Paul Badura-Skoda, and Alan Weiss, among others. She has a great interest in composition as well.

REPERTOIRE: 

PRELIMINARY

Bartók: Two Romanian Dances, BB 56

Brahms: Ballade in D minor, op. 10/1

Liszt: Transcendental Études – 12. Chasse-neige

SEMI-FINAL

Bartók: Sonata, BB 88

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, op. 109 – 3. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung. Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo

János Mátyás Stark: Toccata

FINAL

Brahms: Four Piano Pieces, op. 119

Scriabin: Piano Sonata No. 2 in G-sharp minor, op. 19 (ʻSonata-Fantasyʼ)

GRAND FINAL

Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 3, BB 127