Anna Thorvaldsdottir begins her composing process by drawing shapes and writing words to help store musical information. Her scores themselves are finely detailed. Hrafn Asgeirsson/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
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Anna Thorvaldsdottir
The composer Julius Eastman died in 1990, but his music is experiencing a renaissance. The Los Angeles-based group Wild Up's jubilant recording of his 1974 work Femenine is one of the most remarkable classical albums of the year. Ron Hammond hide caption
Anna Thorvaldsdóttir's ENIGMA, as performed by the Spektral Quartet. Courtesy of Sono Luminus hide caption
Wye Oak's "Fortune" is one of NPR Music's top 16 songs of the month. Kendall Bailey Photography/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
The debut album by the Aizuri Quartet is called Blueprinting. David Stith/New Amsterdam Records hide caption
St. Vincent performs at O2 Apollo Manchester in October 2017 in Manchester, England. Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage/Getty Images hide caption
Composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir revised her piece Aura especially for The Los Angeles Percussion Quartet. David Holechek hide caption
The San Francisco Symphony's recording of two Beethovenian works by John Adams is one of our picks for 2015. Courtesy of the San Francisco Symphony hide caption
Anna Thorvaldsdottír's music evokes the beautifully austere landscapes of her native Iceland. Saga Sigurdardottir/Courtesy of the artist hide caption