Herbert Hriberschek Ágústsson was born in 1926. He studied in Graz, in Austria, where his compostion professors were Arthur Michi and Dr. Franz Mixa. Herbert was a hornist in the Philharmonic Orchestra of Graz from 1945-1952, after which he came to Iceland and became the principal hornist of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. In addition to that position, he has worked as a composer, a choral conductor, and a teacher. He was the director of the Keflavík School of Music from 1976-1985.
Wind instruments play an important role in Herbert’s works. For his own instrument, he has written Concerto, for horn and orchestra (1963), Andante, for horn and strings (1950) and Rondo, for horn and strings (1973). Other works for wind instruments include Sinfonietta, for winds, piano, and percussion (1973) and Quintet, for winds (1968). Herbert has by no means limited himself to composing for wind instruments; among his larger works is Formgerð II (Structure II) (1979)