Ólafsson, Adès and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra kickstart the planet

By Stephen Pritchard, 21 November 2021

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“climbing carefully down a descending rock face of beautiful, questing chords”

Reviewed at Harpa Concert Hall: Eldborg - Main Hall, Reykjavík on 18 November 2021

Sibelius, Rakastava (The Lover) for string orchestra, Op.14

Sibelius, Stormen (The Tempest): Suite no. 2, Op.109 no.3

Adès, Dawn

Adès, In Seven Days

Iceland Symphony Orchestra

Thomas Adès, Conductor

Víkingur Ólafsson, Piano

Deep space to Romantic sweep: Hough and the Iceland Symphony

David Karlin, 20th April

Sir Stephen Hough produces a memorable piece of pianism in Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto and Anna Thorvaldsdottir's Metacosmos will have converted some contemporary music sceptics.

****1

Iceland Symphony demonstrates its mettle in UK debut tour

Mark Pullinger, 10th February

A bold programme from an orchestra with a bold sound as the ISO trails in the wake of Storm Ciara on its debut UK tour.

***11

Iceland Symphony Orchestra in Gothenburg

Dominic Lowe, 19th April

The Iceland Symphony Orchestra's tour to the acoustically excellent Göteborgs konserthus in Sweden for a concert of Sibelius, Strauss and Thorvaldsdóttir was an obvious success, demonstrating an orchestral sound that deserves to be heard abroad more often.

****1

Iceland Symphony's Scenic Debut

Paul Kilbey, 22nd August

The Iceland Symphony Orchestra give an assured performance in their debut concert at the Proms, most successfully in the new compositions of their compatriots.

***11

Dark Music Days in Reykjavik

Sofia Nyblom, 30th January

For 24 years, the festival of Dark Music Days has fuelled imagination with contemporary music, thanks to the initiative of the Icelandic Composer’s Union. And with the advent of a glamorous concert hall in the midst of crisis and bankruptcy, the glittering Harpa, the crowds have grown in numbers every year.

Musik wie Feuer und Eis: das Iceland Symphony Orchestra in München

David Renke, 12th November

Das Programm kombinierte eisige Musik aus dem Norden und russisches Feuer mit Werken von Grieg, Bjarnason und Tschaikowsky, mit Vikingur Ólafsson als Solist.

****1

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Stephen Pritchard

Stephen Pritchard began singing as a treble at the age of eight and progressed to become a tenor in Portsmouth Cathedral Choir, the Gibbons Consort and now the English Chamber Choir. Writing about music has been at the core of his 40-year career in journalism, chiefly at the Observer. He has been known to play a pretty mean jazz double bass.

In the beginning: Ólafsson, Adès and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra kickstart the planet