Birth of the World

The Birth of the World is the title of this concert, where Barbara Hannigan takes concertgoers on a journey through time and space with a program that spans over 200 years of musical history. The opening notes are taken from the overture to Haydn's Creation, The Representation of Chaos, which flows into a quiet string orchestral piece by American composer Ruth Crawford Seeger. Reflections on the flow of time continue with Haydn's Symphony no. 64 which bears the familiar title “The times change”.

It is as if time stands still in György Ligeti's magnificent work, Lontano. Flickering sound masses of light and shadow make this mesmerising composition one of the cornerstones of orchestral works of the past century. The concert ends with another well-known tone poem, Also sprach Zarathustra, by Richard Strauss, in which the composer ponders the mystery of the universe in a magnificent tone poem where elegance and mystery collide.

Barbara Hannigan has garnered worldwide acclaim in recent years for her conducting and singing. She won, amongst other awards, the Grammy Award in 2018 for the album Crazy Girl and most recently the prestigious Polar Music Award in May 2025.

Icelandic concertgoers are familiar with Barbara Hannigan, as she has already conducted three concerts with the orchestra to great acclaim. Hannigan will assume the position of principal conductor and artistic director of the orchestra in the fall of 2026.