Subscription Series
Iceland Symphony Orchestra 2009-2010
Red series
The Red subscription series is intended for those who enjoy hearing the powerful and majestic sounds of symphonic music from the 19th and 20th centuries. It includes two symphonies – nos. 1 and 5 – by Gustav Mahler, in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of his birth. Shostakovich's Symphony no. 8 was among those blacklisted by Soviet authorities following its premiére, but is now widely considered one of his finest creations. Schubert's Unfinished symphony and Beethovens Pastoral symphony are among the most beloved symphonic works of all time. The Red series features a truly outstanding list of conductors, many of whom work with the ISO on a regular basis, including Pietari Inkinen, Osmo Vänskä, and Russian legend Gennady Rozhdestvensky, who recently assumed the post of Principal Guest Conductor of the ISO.
Thu 16 Sep 2010 19:30
Mahler & Strauss
Richard Strauss: Vier letzte Lieder
Gustav Mahler: Symphony no. 1
Lionel Bringuier, conductor
Emma Bell, soprano
Thu 23 Sep 2010 19:30
Faust plays Stravinsky
Maurice Ravel: Tombeau de Couperin
Igor Stravinsky: Violin Concerto
César Franck: Symphony in D minor
Pietari Inkinen, conductor
Isabelle Faust, violin
Thu 2 Dec 2010 19:30
Petrenko conducts Mahler
Franz Schubert: Symphony no. 8, ‘Unfinished'
Gustav Mahler: Symphony no. 5
Vasily Petrenko, conductor
Thu 3 Feb 2011 19:30
War and Peace
Krzysztof Penderecki: Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima
Dmitri Shostakovich: Violin Concerto no. 1
Witold Lutoslawski: Concerto for orchestra
Baldur Brönniman, conductor
Ari Þór Vilhjálmsson, violin
Thu 17 Feb 2011 19:30
Gerstein plays Brahms
Robert Schumann: Symphony no. 4
Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto no. 2
Louis Langrée, conductor
Kirill Gerstein, piano
Thu 10 Mar 2011 19:30
The Russian Legend
Alfred Schnittke: Violin Concerto no. 4
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony no. 8
Gennady Rozhdestvensky, conductor
Alexander Rozhdestvensky, violin
Thu 24 Mar 2011 19:30
Osmo and Kroumata
Jón Leifs: Trilogia piccola
Áskell Másson: ORA
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony no. 6
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Kroumata, percussion ensemble
Yellow series
The Yellow series features a wide selection of music from the 18th to the 20th century. Among the highlights of the 10/11 season are Prokofiev's ballet music to Romeo and Juliet, Isolde's Liebestod from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, and Rimsky-Korsakov's brilliantly colorful score to Sheherazade, a musical re-telling of Arabian Nights. Also featured is Richard Strauss's tone poem, Also sprach Zarathustra, whose opening is well known through its use in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odissey. Among soloists in the yellow series are four outstanding Icelandic musicians, and the German violinist Isabelle Faust, who has received immense praise for her playing in recent years and who is the ISO's Artist-in-residence in 2010/11.
Fri 10 Sep 2010 19:30
Opening Concert
György Ligeti: Concert Românesc
Franz Liszt: Mephisto Waltz no. 1
Franz Liszt: Totentanz
Sergei Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini
Igor Stravinsky: The Firebird, suite
Ilan Volkov, conductor
Víkingur Heiðar Ólafsson, piano
Thu 28 Oct 2010 19:30
Sheherazade
Maurice Ravel: La valse
Béla Bartók: Viola Concerto
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherazade
Petri Sakari, conductor
Þórunn Ósk Marínósdóttir, viola
Thu 25 Nov 2010 19:30
Romeo and Juliet
Jean Sibelius: The Lover (Rakastava)
Felix Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto
Sergei Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet
James Gaffigan, conductor
Helga Þóra Björgvinsdóttir, violin
Thu 10 Feb 2011 19:30
Also sprach Zarathustra
Richard Wagner: Prelude and Liebestod, from Tristan und Isolde
Hafliði Hallgrímsson: Cello Concerto
Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra
Stefan Solyom, conductor
Danjulo Ishizaka, cello
Thu 24 Feb 2011 19:30
The Romantic Symphony
Violin Concerto TBA
Anton Bruckner: Symphony no. 4
Bertrand de Billy, conductor
Isabelle Faust, violin
Thu 17 Mar 2011 19:30
Postnikova plays Prokofiev
Nikolai Miaskovsky: Symphony no. 8
Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto no. 2
Sergei Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, selections
Gennady Rozhdestvensky, conductor
Viktoria Postnikova, piano
Thu 14 Apr 2011 19:30
Mozart and Brahms
Carl Maria von Weber: Oberon, overture
W.A. Mozart: Violin Concerto no. 5
Johannes Brahms: Symphony no. 1
Michal Dworzynski, conductor
Greta Guðnadóttir, violin
Green series
The Green series is intended for audience members who wish to hear familiar and beloved classics in outstanding performances by the ISO and its guest artists. It is ideally suited for those who are starting their journey into the world of classical music, although seasoned concert-goers will also find much of interest here. Among this season's highlights is a concert performance of Porgy and Bess, featuring internationally renowned soloists under the direction of Wayne Marshall. Harvard professor Robert D. Levin performs Mozart in his inimitable, infectious manner, and Christian Lindberg conducts an entire concert devoted to the music of Tchaikovsky. The annual ISO Christmas concert features two outstanding soloists known for their interpretation of Baroque music, and the immensely popular New Years' Vienna concert includes operetta selections by Johann Strauss and Franz Lehár, as well as the brilliant orchestral suite from Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier.
Thu 7 Oct and Fri 8 Oct 2010 19:30
The Gershwin's®PORGY AND BESSSM
by George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy
Heyward and Ira Gershwin
Wayne Marshall, conductor
Rodney Clarke, Porgy
Indira Mahajan, Bess
Angela Renée Simpson, Serena/Maria
Ronald Samm, Sportin Life
Hljómeyki/ Kór Áskirkju, choirs
Thu 18 Nov 2010 19:30
Classic favorites
Joseph Haydn: Symphony no. 49, ‘Passione'
W.A. Mozart: Piano concerto in D minor
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony no. 1
Giovanni Antonini, conductor
Robert Levin, piano
Sat 11 Dec 2010 17:00
Advent Concert
Baroque and seasonal favourites, including arias from
Handel's Messiah and Bach's advent cantatas, Corelli's
Christmas Concerto and Adolphe Adam's O, Holy Night.
Nicholas Kraemer, conductor
Katherine Watson, soprano
James Gilchrist, tenor
Wed 5, Thu 6, Fri 7, and Sat 8 Jan 2011 19:30/17:00
Viennese favourites
A New Year's Gala concert with Viennese favourites,
including Johann Strauss's Blue Danube waltz and
Fledermaus overture, Richard Strauss's Suite from
Der Rosenkavalier, and operetta selections performed
by one of Iceland's best-loved sopranos.
Graeme Jenkins, conductor
Hanna Dóra Sturludóttir, soprano
Thu 7 Apr 2011 19:30
Tchaikovsky favorites
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Capriccio italien
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 5
Christian Lindberg, conductor
Mikhail Simonyan, violin
Children's / Family Concerts
The ISO gives four family concerts annually. These concerts, hosted by Icelandic actress Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, last 60 minutes and are intended for children of all ages. This season features a family version of Mozart's Magic Flute with talented young Icelandic singers taking the main roles, a Family Christmas concert, and a program of music related to witchcraft and sorcery. Also, two favorite short films of Charlie Chaplin will be screened with the ISO providing live accompaniment.
Sat 23 Oct 2010 14:00 and 17:00
W.A. Mozart - The Magic Flute
(family concert, in Icelandic)
Bernharður Wilkinson, conductor
Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, narrator
Herdís Anna Jónasdóttir, Pamina
Sveinn Dúa Hjörleifsson, Tamino
Jón Svavar Jósefsson, Papageno
Tinna Árnadóttir, Papagena
Hrund Ósk Árnadóttir, Queen of the Night
Sat 13 Nov 2010 14:00
Charles Chaplin: A Dog's Life
Charles Chaplin: The Idle Class
Frank Strobel, conductor
Sat 18 Dec 2010 14:00 and 17:00
Family Christmas Concert
Leroy Anderson: A Christmas Festival
Pyotr Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, selections
Pablo de Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen
Favourite Christmas songs
Bernharður Wilkinson, conductor
Hera Björk Þórhallsdóttir, vocalist
Hlér Kristjánsson, violin
Students from the Icelandic Ballet School
Kársnes School Choir
Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, host
Sat 3 Mar 2011 14:00
Witches and Magicians
(Family Concert)
Musorgsky/Ravel: Baba Yaga
Edvard Grieg: In the Hall of the Mountain King
H.K. Gruber: Rat Song, from Frankenstein
Gustav Holst: Uranus, the Magician
Manuel de Falla: Love, the Magician
John Williams: Music from Harry Potter
Richard Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries
Bernharður Wilkinson, conductor
Bergþór Pálsson, vocalist
Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, host
Various concerts
Aside from the various subscription series, the ISO gives several exciting concerts in the 10/11 season. Among these are a program of new Icelandic works during the Dark Music Days festival in January, a film music concert featuring selections by Korngold, Herrmann, and Jonny Greenwood, a concert with Icelandic pop superstar Páll Óskar, and the Swedish percussion ensemble Kroumata in the Icelandic premiére of Steve Reich's Drumming, one of the seminal works of 1970s minimalism.
Sat 2 Oct 2010 17:00
Iceland Symphony Youth Orchestra
Modest Musorgsky: Night on a Bald Mountain
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 4
Rumon Gamba, conductor
Thu 4 Nov and Fri 5 Nov 2010 20:00
Páll Óskar and the ISO
Icelandic pop legend Páll Óskar performs a selection
of his best-selling music with the ISO.
Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson, vocalist
Bernharður Wilkinson, conductor
Thu 11 Nov 2010 20:00
Charles Chaplin: City Lights
Frank Strobel, conductor
Thu 13 Jan 2011 19:30
Young Soloists
A concert featuring the winners of this year's young soloists
competition, held in co-operation with the Iceland Academy
of the Arts. Winners will be announced in October 2010 and
the programme will be posted on the ISO's website.
Bernharður Wilkinson, conductor
Soloists TBA
Thu 20 Jan 2011 19:30
Film Music
A concert of film music selections, including Bernard Herrmann's
Psycho suite, Nino Rota's The Godfather, and music by Erich Wolfgang
Korngold, Jonny Greenwood, and Jerry Goldsmith.
Benjamin Shwartz, conductor
Thu 27 Jan 2011 19:30
Dark Music Days (The Icelandic Music Frestival)
Daníel Bjarnason: Emergence
Steingrímur Rohloff: Concerto for Bass clarinet
Finnur Torfi Stefánsson: Violin Concerto
György Ligeti: Atmosphères
Daníel Bjarnason, conductor
Rúnar Óskarsson, bass clarinet
Sigrún Eðvaldsdóttir, violin
Fri 25 Mar 2011 21:00
Young Adults Concert
Steve Reich: Drumming
Kroumata, percussion ensemble
Members of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra
