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Mahler 8

Harpa Concert Hall: Eldborg - Main HallAusturbakki 2, Reykjavík, Capital Region, 101, Iceland
Dates/times in Reykjavik time zone
Friday 29 May 202619:30
Saturday 30 May 202617:00
Performers
Eva OllikainenConductor
Bryndís GuðjónsdóttirSoprano
Álfheiður Erla GuðmundsdóttirSoprano
Dísella LárusdóttirSoprano
Anna KissjuditContralto
Hanna Dóra SturludóttirSoprano
Simon O'NeillTenor
Ólafur SigurdarsonBaritone
Tómas TómassonBaritone
Iceland Symphony Orchestra
Motet Choir
Hljómeyki Chamber Choir
Philharmonia Choir
Langholtskirkja Choir
Kársnes School Choir
Stefan SandChoirmaster / chorus director
Magnús RagnarssonChoirmaster / chorus director
Álfheiður BjörgvinsdóttirChoirmaster / chorus director

The performance of Mahler's 8th Symphony is without a doubt a major event in the Icelandic music scene and marks a milestone in the history of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. This masterpiece of musical history has never before been performed in Iceland, and now there is no expense spared. The symphony was nicknamed “the Symphony of Thousands” early on, because its performance calls for an unusual high number of performers, both singers and instrumentalists. On stage will be nearly four hundred performers, an unusually large orchestra, eight soloists, a choir and a children's choir. Mahler composed this moving piece of music in just six weeks in 1906, a towering celebration of love and humanity, full of optimism and faith in humanity. Mahler was convinced that the work's message applied to the whole world, and even today, the performance of the work is a truly international musical event every time.

This concert will also be Eva Ollikainen's farewell as principal conductor. She has been the principal conductor and artistic director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra since 2020.

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