Jón Leifs - Saga Symphony/Söguhetjur (Score Video)

This video is intended only for educational use; please email me at @ regarding any copyright issues. Iceland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vänskä As with many of Leifs’ works, don’t turn up the volume too much! Jón Leifs (1899-1968) was an Icelandic composer, probably the most notable from his country in the 20th century. For more about Leifs, see the description in my score video of his “Reminiscence du Nord“ for string orchestra: While he is most famous for his shorter orchestral works, the “Saga Symphony“ of 1941-42 is perhaps the culmination of Leifs’ musical style. Portraying five characters from the Norse sagas, the symphony is harsh, fragmented and uncompromising, with the composer’s penchant for unusual instrumentation showing in the form of lurs (medieval Scandinavian natural horns), an ocarina, and a wide variety of percussion: multiple hamme