Jon Leifs, Iceland's sanctified son
Scandinavian Review, Autumn 1997 by Sigmundsdottir, Alda
Sigmundsdottir, Alda "Jon Leifs, Iceland's sanctified son". Scandinavian Review. FindArticles.com.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3760/is_199710/ai_n8777558/
Having met with fierce adversity and scorn during his lifetime, the late Icelandic composer Jon Leifs (1899-1968) is now being hailed as the most influential champion of Icelandic musical culture in the nation's history.
The recent revival associated with the late Icelandic composer Jon Leifs has, if nothing else, been a study in the making of a legend. His music, which once was considered unrefined and barbaric, is now labelled "Nordic primitivism" and is thought to be among the most succinct artistic portrayals of Iceland's magnificent landscape ever. His compositions, which in the past were ridiculed and shunned, are now being recorded by Icelandic and nonIcelandic record companies, which release CD after CD of Leifs' work, many to stunning reviews. Icelandic society ignored Leifs while he was alive; yet when a film based on his life was released in Iceland two years ago, the audience gave a standing ovation at the end of it. And this autumn will see the release of the first complete Jon Leifs biography.
Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of the Jon Leifs revival is how the Icelandic nation has finally made peace with his memory. For Leifs was a man who tended to upset society's delicate sensibilities simply by speaking his mind. The fact that the world-or Iceland-was not ready for his music enraged him, as did the treatment he received; treatment which the Swedish music critic and Leifs champion Carl-Gunnar/Ahlen terms "psychological expulsion." Leifs' public attacks on his countrymen's conservative musical tastes earned him more than a few enemies. Now that a new generation is freed from the prevailing prejudices towards Leifs' person, an objective evaluation of his music is finally possible.
Success and Failure
Jon Leifs was born in 1899 on a farm in northern Iceland, but moved to Reykjavik with his family while still a baby. Music and culture were held in high esteem in the Leifs' household, and the young boy's aptitude for music became evident at an early age. Leifs failed to "find himself" within the formal school system, however, and at the age of seventeen he announced to his parents that he had decided to quit school to study music. After some discussion his mother and father managed to persuade their son to complete the year; afterwards he could travel to Germany to study music.
Jon Leifs studied piano, conducting and composition at the Leipzig Conservatory of Music, graduating in 1921. He received fine grades and the encouragement of his teachers, and to all appearances seemed to be at the starting line of a brilliant career.
In his personal life things seemed no less promising. A week after graduating Leifs married Annie Riethof, an up-and-coming pianist and a fellow student at the conservatory. Riethof, too, seemed to have everything going for her: She was talented, sharply intelligent and came from a wealthy Jewish family which supported her in every way.
In the years following their marriage Leifs and Riethof held several concerts in Iceland. It was then that Leifs began forming and vocalizing his opinions about the Icelanders' lack of musical sophistication. He was determined to do his best to rectify the situation and to that end managed, among other things, to bring the Hamburg Philharmonic to Iceland in 1926. This was considered quite a feat at the time, particularly as it was the first time that the Icelandic nation had ever been exposed to a symphony orchestra.
Soon afterwards Leifs attempted to found a string orchestra in Iceland. It soon became evident, however, that Icelandic musicians were hopelessly lacking in both discipline and technique, and their attempted performances of his demanding compositions were nothing short of disastrous.
In 1935 Jon Leifs was hired as musical director at the newly-formed Icelandic National Broadcasting Service. This promising cooperation quickly turned sour, however, as Leifs' ideas about what national radio should be did not match those of his superiors. Thus his employment with the National Broadcasting Service ended less than two years after it had begun, with bitterness on both sides.
Nazi Darkness
It was a disillusioned Leifs who returned to Germany in 1937 to settle down. By then his family had expanded to include the daughters Snot and Lif. Leifs now put all his efforts into creating a sound that would forge an Icelandic musical identity, and more and more his compositions began to be based on the motifs found in Icelandic folk songs.
Jon Leifs had moderate career success in those years; he conducted orchestras throughout Europe and his compositions were played throughout the continent, as well as being broadcast on the radio. It was not long, however, before the political upheaval in Europe and the Nazi's ascent to power began to have an effect on both his and his wife's career. Leifs enjoyed favor with the Nazi Party at the beginning, chiefly through his fervent support of Iceland's independence from Denmark. These strong nationalistic tendencies were seen as sympathetic to Nazi ideology and his career flourished accordingly. But not for long. The discrimination began with Riethof; soon she was prohibited from holding concerts. Slowly Leifs' career ground to a halt as well. Riethof's Jewish ancestry is, without question, the most probable cause.
By 1939 the family was trapped inside Nazi Germany and Leifs' music was banned outright. It was then that he composed some of his most emotionally charged work, such as the mournful Mors et Vita and his most ambitious composition, The Saga Symphony.
Yet despite all the signs Leifs stubbornly refused to believe that he or his family were in danger; after all, he reasoned, all of them carried Icelandic passports. It was not until Riethof's mother perished in a concentration camp that the gravity of their situation became apparent. In 1944 Leifs, Riethof and their two daughters managed to escape to Sweden.
Within weeks Leifs announced that he wanted a separation from his wife. Reportedly the end of the marriage was a terrible blow to Riethof, who by then had virtually lost everything, yet she had no choice but to concede. Leifs moved to Iceland, alone, in 1945.
There he continued to compose, his efforts meeting with the animosity and disillusion described above. The adversity seems to have prompted Leifs to seek positive outlets for his anger, however, for he became a strong advocate for artists' rights. Among the societies that he is credited with founding are the Federation of Icelandic Artists, the Society of Icelandic Composers and STEF: The Performing Rights Society. In addition, he held seats on the committees of various national and international organizations dealing with similar issues. Today it is commonly acknowledged that no Icelander has been a greater crusader for artists' rights than Jon Leifs.
In 1947 a tragic accident occurred which was to affect Leifs' life more than any other. His daughter Lif, only 17 years of age, drowned while swimming off the coast of Sweden. Subsequently, Leifs composed what many feel are his most moving works: Requiem op. 33, Vita et Mors and In Memoriam. Lif's body was brought to Iceland and buried in Reykjavik. Following her death Annie Riethof and Snot Leifs moved to Reykjavik to settle.
In 1950 The Saga Symphony was performed for the first time, in Finland. Soon afterwards it was broadcast across Scandinavia. Critics, to put it bluntly, were appalled. The music critic of the respected Norwegian paper Verdens Gang termed it "a monstrosity by Jon Leifs which he has called a symphony." Other critics-particularly the Icelandic ones-were no more generous.
In 1956 Leifs met and married the woman who would remain his partner for the remainder of his life, Thorbjorg Johannsdottir Moller. She has outlived her husband and still resides in Reykjavik. They had one son, Leifur, born in 1957. Annie Riethof died in 1970. Snot Leifs was struck with a disabling disease and is now confined to a nursing home. Jon Leifs died in 1968, of lung cancer.
Sanctification
According to Leifs scholars the current revival began in 1988, with the performance of Leifs' Concert for Organ and Orchestra in Sweden, for the first time since 1942. Soon more of his works began finding their way onto the programs of various orchestras and ensembles. The Icelandic ITM label recorded selections of Leifs' works on compilation CDs and finally released one, entitled Visions and Images, devoted exclusively to Leifs' compositions.
In 1995 The Saga Symphony was performed for the first time in full length in Iceland, by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra (ISO). At the same time the Swedish record label BIS recorded the ISO's performance of the work. This time around it received overwhelmingly positive reviews, with the renowned music magazine Grammophone, for instance, naming it one of the top recordings of the year. BIS has now released a total of four CDs devoted to Leifs' work. One of them, The Three String Quartets, was awarded a special prize in 1995 at the MIBEM music convention in Cannes. BIS' most recent release of Leifs' work, Geysir, has also received excellent reviews in the world's classical music press, most recently in the German Fono Forum, which chose it as their "Star of the Month."
The British Chandos record company has also featured Leifs' music on compilation CDs and released one CD devoted entirely to his music. The Leifs revival is not entirely confined to his music, however. In 1995 the film Tears of Stone, based on parts of Leifs' life, was released in Iceland. On the day of its premiere Iceland's main daily, Morgunbladid, devoted an entire removable section to the making of the film. Film critics raved. Since then Tears of Stone has played at film festivals in Europe and America. Among the prizes it has collected are the Grand Prize for Best Film at the Montpellier International Jewish Film Festival and the Nordic Public Jury Prize at the Gothenburg Film Festival in 1996. The soundtrack from the film is available on the ITM label.
This autumn will see the release of a Jon Leifs biography, written by Leifs scholar Hjalmar H. Ragnarsson. Ragnarsson is one of Leifs' most dedicated spokesmen and has been instrumental in getting him the recognition he deserves; thus the book is sure to give a vivid and detailed picture of a remarkable artist. Undoubtedly it will finally do justice to the man who unequivocally did more for Iceland's musical identity than he was ever given credit for in his lifetime.
Alda Sigmundsdottir is a journalist and translator. She has lived in Canada, England, Cyprus and Germany, and currently resides in Reykjavik.
Copyright American Scandinavian Foundation Autumn 1997
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved
norskug