New Music Festival - Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

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NMF ESSAY – SIGFRÍDUR BJÖRNSDÓTTIR Vitality – Variety The Music Scene in Iceland The most prominent event in the music scene in Iceland in recent times has to be the opening of a new concert and conference hall in Reykjavík, named Harpa. This long-awaited home of music was first opened to the public in the beginning of May 2011 and the building was formally inaugurated with an opening ceremony in August of the same year. During the first few months the numbers of guests visting the house mounted up to the total number of inhabitants in Iceland, 320,000 people. The house itself will, for some, forever stand as a monument to the spirit that drove the Icelandic financial market to the monumental crash in 2008, from which the country’s economy will take years, if not decades, to recover. At the same time it is heartily embraced by others as the 21st century’s fitting venue for the many types of music in Iceland that keep the heartbeat of our culture robust and vital. Harpa has already, in its opening year, been the venue for several festivals such as the Nordic Music Days 2011, Iceland Airwaves, Reykjavík Jazz Festival and the Reykjavík Arts Festival as well as a series of Björk´s latest concerts. And there are many more to come, including the Dark Music Days 12 OVERTURE I January – February 2012 2012, along with major conferences such as the Eve Online game conference in the Spring of 2012. Performing visitors are lining up to appear in Harpa; Dudamel and Vengerov have conducted in the house and Ashkenazy conducted the opening concerts. Jonas Kaufmann and Barbara Bonney have performed there and Kiri Te Kanawa is expected soon. The audiences in Iceland have a terrific array of options. In many ways, this huge harbour project resembles some of the new concert halls that have recently opened around the world with its glassy look and emphasis on natural light in the public areas on the inside. Special effort was made artistically to place this house specifically in Iceland through the design of the glass façade. Harpa’s façade is designed by renowned artist Ólafur Elíasson, Henning Larsen Architects and Batteríid Architects. The design is based on geometric principles; realised in two and three dimensions. Reminiscent of the crystallised basalt columns commonly found in Iceland, the southern facades create kaleidoscopic reflections of the city and the striking surrounding landscape. Harpa is the home of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2010. The orchestra has distinguished itself as one of the leading Nordic orchestras through its acclaimed performances and recordings. The artistic achievement of the ISO is even more remarkable given that the classical music tradition in Iceland only began in the 20th century. A short description of the audience development in the orchestra’s concerts can be seen as somewhat typical of what has been happening in the last few years in the music field in Iceland. A steep increase of subscriptions sales occurred in the dark hours of the financial meltdown. One might have expected a downturn when the reality of it hit the public with the freefalling currency and thus increased prices and cost of living in general. However, on the contrary, the increase in season-ticket sales continued. When sales for the orchestra’s 2011-2012 season began, they went through the roof! In short, in the last three years these sales have more than doubled. The live music scene in Iceland is very active in general and music events of all kinds draw large numbers of people. Research has shown that people in Iceland’s neighbouring countries spend as much money now as before on culture, but they tend to go to fewer, more expensive events. We are not sure yet that this is the case in Iceland. Not everything can be measured by amounts spent; the generous support for artistic activities in Iceland ensures a wide range of music events offered for free or very little money to the people around the country.
Despite the regularly announced death of the CD, sales of locally produced music on disc in Iceland are constantly rising and every year the public buys tens of thousands of some of the titles published. As an example of this, the artist Mugison struck a chord in the nation’s heart with his album Haglél, released just before last Christmas. He invited people to a free concert in Harpa’s largest hall, Eldborg, as a “thank you” for its remarkable reception. As a result of the heavy demand for tickets, the electronic ticket ordering system crashed and extra concerts were scheduled. A classical album of music by Anna Thorvaldsdóttir was released in the Autumn of 2011 by the USA-based publisher Innova. This album has received rave reviews and was included in top-10 lists of the year by both Time Out New York and Time Out Chicago. Just before Christmas came the announcement that one of the works on the CD has been chosen for performance at the ISCM Music Festival in 2012, a rare honour for Icelandic music. There are more facets of the music life than the full professional in all styles that relate to and can be a part of the explanation of this vitality of the music scene in general. The music schools in Iceland serve approximately 12,000 students every year, and if we add the numbers of members of choirs in Iceland, more than 15,000. The combined number of active students and singing amateurs in Iceland approaches 10% of the population. Björk took the Icelandic music scene by storm in 2011, with her series of concerts Biophilia in the Autumn. The project is on a large scale; a complicated phenomenon with not only musical aspects but permeated with the love of nature and science, invention and community. Her idealistic correlational education project where modern methods such as apps and live workshops for children are an integrated part of the scene have received due attention. As some may know a small girls’ choir plays an important role in the Biophilia project, a performance feature impossible if not for the strong roots of good education and training in music for children in Iceland. Their conductor, Jón Stefánsson, has directed the choir since he founded it and they have received many awards both at home and abroad. Among the big events of the Icelandic music scene were the premieres of several larger works by Icelandic composers. Welcome, Harpa by Thorkell Sigurbjornsson and In Seventh Heaven by Haukur Tómasson both formed a part of the Harpa opening festivities. Emergence by Daníel Bjarnason was premiered at the Dark Music Days 2011, the annual festival of Iceland Composers Society held in the dark, winter days of late January/early February. Aeriality by Anna Thorvaldsdottir was premiered by the ISO in the new hall in late November. A violin concerto by Haflidi Hallgrímsson was premiered in Scotland, a percussion concerto by Áskell Másson was premiered in Tuurku, conducted by Petri Sakari, a former chief conductor of the ISO. A brand new horn concerto, also by Másson was premiered by the ISO in the Autumn. This is just a part of a much longer list of premieres, and mention must be made of the continued success of Jón Leifs’ music, both at home and throughout the world. One has to consider how all this activity is possible in such a small society and one fact must be said to be part of the explanation: every musician in the country wears many hats! They perform professionally, teach, they participate part-time in underground experimental groups and take part in the most extreme diversity of musical performances. Theatre, dance, charity, opera, children, the elderly – some of these active musicians are household names in Icelandic homes for very different reasons or touching points with the peoples’ lives. It is this melting-pot of creativity and performance forces from all directions that can, to some extent, explain the sense of freedom from fixed genres and styles which can be felt in musicmaking in Iceland. Everything is possible, it just has to be good! Sigfrídur Björnsdóttir Director, Iceland Music Information Centre January – February 2012 I OVERTURE 13
Page 1: WINNIPEG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA January
Page 4 and 5: GOVERNMENT GREETINGS Minister of Ca
Page 6 and 7: WINNIPEG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA GREETIN
Page 8 and 9: CONDUCTORS & COMPOSERS Alexander Mi
Page 10 and 11: PRE-CONCERT EVENTS & PERFORMANCES A
Page 12 and 13: POST-CONCERT EVENTS & PERFORMANCES
Page 17 and 18: CONCERT TWO Sunday, January 29 I 7:
Page 19 and 20: CONCERT THREE Monday, January 30 I
Page 21 and 22: CONCERT FOUR Tuesday, January 31 I
Page 23 and 24: CONCERT FIVE Wednesday, February 1
Page 25 and 26: CONCERT SIX Thursday, February 2 I
Page 27 and 28: CONCERT SEVEN Friday, February 3 I
Page 29 and 30: Elation Pauls Instrument: Violin Jo
Page 31 and 32: PERFORMER/ARTIST BIOS Jurriaan Andr
Page 33 and 34: PERFORMER/ARTIST BIOS Gudbergur Ber
Page 35 and 36: PERFORMER/ARTIST BIOS troupe has be
Page 37 and 38: PERFORMER/ARTIST BIOS Michael Matth
Page 39 and 40: PERFORMER/ARTIST BIOS 1982. Her stu
Page 41 and 42: 1948-51 Hon. Mr. Justice J. T. Beau

New Music Festival - Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

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