ICELAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Iceland Symphony Orchestra
For centuries, Iceland's cultural heritage had been firmly rooted in literature,
notably in the Icelandic Sagas. Music has only had a place since the mid-twentieth
century. The foundation of the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service and the
Reykjavik College of Music, both in 1930, provided the basis for the formation
of a professional orchestra, although it was not established until 9th March,
1950. Now the Iceland Symphony Orchestra has achieved a high level of performance.
It gives approximately sixty concerts each season, including subscription concerts
in Reykjavik, and tours both in Iceland and abroad, with recent visits to the
Faeroes, Greenland, Germany, Austria, France, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and North
America. Over the years the orchestra has collaborated with many renowned guest
artists, including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yehudi Menuhin, Wilhelm Kempff, Claudio
Arrau, André Previn, Daniel Barenboim, Luciano Pavarotti, Anne-Sophie
Mutter, Emil Gilels and Mstislav Rostropovich. Principal conductors have included
Olav Kielland and Karsten Andersen from Norway, Bohdan Wodiczko from Poland,
Jean-Pierre Jacquillat from France, Petri Sakari and Osmo Vänskä from
Finland and the American conductor Rico Saccani. The British conductor Rumon
Gamba is the present chief conductor and musical director.
OCTOBER 2004
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