Latest Works
KLUKKAN (The Bell)
for piano and percussion duo
Written for and premiered at the Dark Music Days, Reykjavik, February 2009.
COSMIC TREE
written for the 44th Brno International Music Festival-14th International Performers´Competition September 2009.
CECILIA
oratorio for 4 soloists, 3 choirs, 2 organs and orchestra.
Written for the Church of Hallgrim, Reykjavik. Scheduled to be premiered November 22nd, 2009.
ORA - Work of the year 2008
ORA, a concerto for 6 percussionists and orchestra was named "Work of the year 2008" at the prize winning ceremony of "Iceland Music Prize". At the ceremony, which took place in the grand studio of the Iceland State Television, Masson received a statuette with the IMP token from the hands of the chairman of the Iceland Composers´League, Kjartan Olafsson.
Askell Masson - Kroumata - Osmo Vänskä
20 years ago Osmo Vänskä begun his work as the Chief Conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and these concerts are the final concerts of this successful period. In Vänskä's farewell concerts will be heard as the world première performance the work ORA by Askell Masson, who is one of the most interesting composers of our time.
The soloist in the work is the awsome percussion Ensemble Kroumata. Concert available live on May 8th 2008 on classicLive (online until May 29, 2008). Conductor Osmo Vänskä talks about the upcoming world premiere of ORA for 6 percussionists and orchestra.
Listen to Scandinavia
The book "Listen to Scandinavia" has just come out. In it, there are 37 songs and musical works by as many Scandinavian composers. Musical examples by Grieg, Nielsen, Sibelius, Per Nörgård, Arne Nordheim, Sven-David Sandström and Askell Masson, to name but a few are quoted and analysed in the book. Two CD´s are included with the book with all 37 musical examples.
Two new works available
The Marimba Concerto for marimba and orchestra and Melodie for viola and marimba are now available from Askell Masson's main publisher, Editions Bim
Visit Editions Bim's website
Works in process for 2008
Also in the making is CECILIA Oratorio for 7 soloists, two choirs, 2 organs and orchestra. The Cecilia Oratorio is scheduled to be premiered on St. Cecilia´s day, in Hallgrims Church, Reykjavik, on the 22nd of November in 2008.
Upcoming commissions are a Horn Concerto for Josef Ognibene and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, a Brass Quintet for the Reykjavik B.Q. and a quintet for mixed instrumentation for the Caput Ensemble.
Violin Concerto named Work of the Year 2006
Áskell Másson received the Iceland Music Prize for his Violin Concerto which was named “Work of the year 2006”. At the prize ceremony January 31st, which took place at the Reykjavik City theatre and was broadcast directly by the Iceland State Television, the City Major of Reykjavik handed him a statuette verifying Másson´s Violin Concerto as “The work of the year 2006” in the category of “Classical and contemporary music”
The judges said of the work:
“Áskell Másson has been particularily prolific and creating in the year 2006. The Violin Concerto is one of his works which received its premiere during the year, but in addition to this, one could name the works Bois Chantant, Quatrain and Introvertical visions. The Violin Concerto bears strong characteristics of its author, being energetic and having rhythmical sharpness, brilliancy of colours and verifying his unique ability in orchestration”.