Prometheus

Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Barbara Hannigan, brings us a concert shrouded in mystery and inspired by ancient myths. The evening's soloists are the resident artist, pianist Bertrand Chamayou, and Rafael Adobas Bayog, the newly appointed principal of the orchestra's flute section. One of the masters of nuance, American composer George Crumb, paints a haunting picture of an imaginary landscape where spirits of the past are hovering. Debussy's dreamy solo about the Greek goddess Syrinx then leads us into the tone poem Luonnotar for soprano and orchestra by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. There, Hannigan poetically tells the story of how Luonnotar, the goddess of air and sea, created the world from pieces of duck egg.

The Greek story of Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods to give to humans in the form of wisdom and knowledge, has inspired composers for centuries. Russian composer Alexander Scriabin was one of those inspired and wrote the tone poem The Poem of Fire for piano and orchestra, where the interplay of colour, light, and shadow creates a unique atmosphere in the dreamlike music. Also featured is the work Aequora by María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, which draws inspiration from the depths of the oceans and their ecosystems.