Biography

Ástmar was born in Iceland and began playing the piano at an early age, quickly showing a natural affinity for the instrument. His formative studies were shaped by leading Icelandic musicians, including the pianist Sveinbjörg Vilhjálmsdóttir Speight and the composer John A. Speight

He later moved to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music with Professor Philip Jenkins and subsequently worked privately with the distinguished Hungarian pianist Louis Kentner CBE.

Over the course of a long artistic life, his musical focus has deepened towards composers whose work explores the full range of human experience — from the structural clarity of Haydn and Beethoven to the poetic introspection of Schubert and Schumann, the expressive range of Brahms, and the colour and intensity of Debussy and Schoenberg. He also maintains a strong connection to contemporary Icelandic music.

A significant influence on his pianistic development has been his long-term study of the Alexander Technique, shaping both his physical relationship with the instrument and his wider approach to music-making - grounded in ease, awareness and clarity of intention.

Alongside public recitals, he is committed to creating more intimate musical experiences through salon concerts, where the traditional distance between performer and audience is reduced.

In these settings, music can be shared in a more immediate and human way.

In addition to performing, Ástmar has taught and mentored students for many years, encouraging an approach to the piano that integrates physical awareness and musical imagination.

Now in a mature phase of his artistic life, his focus is increasingly on distillation — refining repertoire, deepening interpretation, and offering performances that communicate with clarity, honesty, and quiet authority.

He has given recitals and appeared at music festivals in Iceland and the UK, recorded for the Icelandic Broadcasting Corporation, and given world premiere performances of piano works by the Icelandic composer John A. Speight.

photo: Trevor Taylor Lmpa