Tomáš Hanus & Stefán Ragnar

It was big news in the Icelandic music scene last March when it was announced that Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson had been chosen to fill the position of principal flutist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. It is a joyous occasion that this magnificent musician is now coming home to play a solo flute concerto that was composed especially for him and Stefán premiered in March 2024 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The music of the concerto, by Lowell Liebermann, is particularly elegant and accessible, but the solo part places great demands on the flutist.

Czech Tomáš Hanus, principal guest conductor of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, will also conduct music by two of his compatriots in the second half of the concert. Dvořák's suite is usually called "the American Suite" because it was composed in the cosmopolitan city of New York, where the influences of American music and music from the composer's homeland blend beautifully.

The Sixth Symphony by another Czech composer, Bohuslav Martinů, is a particularly elegant piece of music, colourful and unusual in form and orchestral arrangement. The symphony is being performed for the first time in concert in Iceland.

The concert begins with the moving Adagio for flute, piano, harp and strings by Jón Nordal, which was a key work in Jón's compositional career. March 2026 will mark 100 years since the birth of the composer, who passed away, in December 2024.