Iceland Symphony Orchestra
Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands is an Icelandic orchestra based in Reykjavík. Its primary concert venue is the Harpa Concert Hall. The Iceland Symphony is an autonomous public institution under the auspices of the Icelandic Ministry of Education. Iceland Symphony Orchestra made its home in Háskólabíó from 1961 to 2011 but moved into the new 1800-seat Harpa Concert Hall in spring 2011. The orchestra gives approximately sixty concerts each season. Per a 1982 law, the Iceland Symphony's primary financial sources are the Icelandic treasury and the City of Reykjavik.
Eva Ollikainen has been chief conductor and artistic director of the orchestra since September 2020. Osmo Vänskä is the orchestra's honorary conductor, and Vladimir Ashkenazy holds the post of Conductor Laureate. Daníel Bjarnason is the orchestra's artist-in-association. Anna Thorvaldsdottir became the orchestra's composer-in-residence in 2018. Víkingur Heiðar Ólafsson joined the roster in 2021 as artist in residence, and Bertrand de Billy the same year as principal guest conductor. Kornilios Michailidis was appointed as conductor-in-residence in 2021.
History
Background (1921–1950)
The first known instance of an orchestra concert in Iceland was on May 22, 1921, when a group of 20 jobbing musicians played for King Christian X of Denmark who was on an official visit in the country. The same basic group and its conductor, composer Þórarinn Guðmundsson, became the founding members of an official orchestra, The Reykjavík Orchestra, in the same year. The RO remained virtually the only functional orchestra in Iceland until the founding of the ISO in 1950. Among the highpoints of the RO's operating time was a celebration in Þingvellir on the occasion of the 1000-year anniversary of the Icelandic national Parliament in 1930, which saw the premiere of several compositions by Icelandic composers.Among other steps toward the foundation of ISO was the foundation of the Reykjavík Music School in 1930 and the foundation of The Icelandic Federation of Musicians in 1939, which became the most influential trade union of musicians in Iceland during the 20th century. Several reputable Icelandic musicians, composers and music enthusiasts wrote articles in local newspapers during this period where Iceland's primitive state of musical culture was reprimanded, most notably Jón Leifs, composer and conductor, who had studied at the Leipzig Conservatory during World War I. Leifs emphasized the inevitable need of a decent symphony orchestra lest Iceland should lag behind other civilized countries. Furthermore, the growing music industry was stimulated by a handful of European musicians who came to live and work in Iceland during the first half of the century. Among the most influential were Franz Mixa, Victor Urbancic and Wilhelm Lanzky-Otto.
Foundation and first years (1950–1956)
During the late forties, the dream of a professional orchestra loomed ever larger in public discussion in Iceland. A group of musicians, led by composers Páll Ísólfsson and Jón Þórarinsson, wrote a formal proposal to the government where suggestions of administration and ownership of the planned orchestra were put forward. Eysteinn Jónsson, minister of culture, introduced a bill in Parliament during the winter of 1947-1948 where a special fund for the management of an orchestra was planned. Jónsson's bill assumed that financial support should come from The National Radio, The Reykjavík Music Society and The National Theatre, which was not yet in operation. The rest of the funding was supposed to come from a tax imposed on movie tickets. However, there was no agreement on the bill in Parliament as MPs representing constituencies outside Reykjavík expressed great antagonism to the idea.In 1950, the steering committee of RÚV agreed to experimentally finance the activity of an orchestra of 40 members for a few months. No formal inaugural meeting was held so the orchestra's foundation date is considered March 9, 1950 when its first concert took place.
At the outset, the ISO was efficient in concerting and gave fifteen public performances during its first year of existence. However, the beginning was unpromising from a financial perspective: operating costs were higher than those applied to any other musical institution in the country, no budget estimates had yet been made, and the public response was marked by a lack of interest. Wage disputes were frequent, and members of the orchestra, most of whom worked part-time, regularly consulted their unions. In early 1953, members of the orchestra went on strike on account of overdue wage payments.
Only a few weeks after the ISO's inauguration, Þjóðleikhúsið opened for the first time, and the two institutions maintained a close alliance for several years. The ISO had no venue of its own, so concerts were normally held in Þjóðleikhúsið, and the orchestra provided music for theatrical performances.
Of the forty founding members, fourteen came from out of Iceland. This made the ISO an unconventional organization in Iceland since the country's level of immigration had always been extremely low.
In 1954, the running of the ISO was incorporated into RÚV. This meant that the orchestra's members had more job security and more wage stability than before. However, attendance to concerts remained low, and after the first twelve months of the collaboration with RÚV, the orchestra was run at a great loss. Bjarni Benediktsson, minister of culture, appointed a committee for heightened efficiency of the management. Debates in Parliament followed, and since increased subscription fees for RÚV seemed the most logical conclusion, no agreement was reached on the matter. Consequently, the activity of ISO came to a halt, and no concerts were held during the winter of 1955–1956.
Rebranding and revitalization (1956–1982)
In March 1956, advances were made towards restoring the ISO as a private institution and reinstating routine performances. A new board was appointed, headed by Ragnar Jónsson, book publisher and art patron. Operating summaries and work schedules gradually became better organized. The orchestra's title had previously been Sinfóníuhljómsveitin but was now formally changed to Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands. Bjarni Benediktsson, minister of culture, was the main advocate of the new title and showed great interest in defining the orchestra as a national treasure. One factor of this approach was the idea of habitually touring the orchestra around the whole country instead of limiting concerts to Reykjavík alone.The ISO's first performance outside Reykjavík was in Akureyri on 21 May 1956. In the following years, annual concert tours took place, normally at the end of the season. Duration of tours was typically between one and two weeks. The orchestra's first trip abroad was to the Faroe Islands in 1977.
The upsurge that started in 1956 was not to be long-lasting. In 1960, the orchestra's board found itself relapsing into financial difficulties, partly due to a high inflation that annually reduced the Icelandic króna's purchasing power by around 10%. Attendance to concerts remained moderate, and earnings were negligible. In February 1961, the board decided to seek renewed ties with RÚV and reshape the ISO as a de facto department of the radio. The board was divided on the issue, and Chairman Jónsson was opposed to the shift. The final result, however, was a rearrangement of the orchestra as a subdivision of RÚV. The arrangement was intended as a temporary solution but remained unchanged until 1982, when Alþingi passed a law on the ISO. Collaboration with Þjóðleikhúsið remained virtually unchanged until 1971, when a contract was made between the two institutions, loosening the ISO's players from their former duties as unpaid participants in the theater's performances.
In 1961, the ISO was transferred to its new residence in Háskólabíó, Reykjavík's largest movie theater. This was the first time that the ISO was able to practice on a permanent basis in the same location as its concerts were held. However, dissatisfaction grew since the acoustics of Háskólabíó were considered unsatisfactory for orchestra concerts. Bohdan Wodiczko, principal conductor, expressed his dislike of Háskólabíó early on, and for the next decades, similar views are frequent in interviews with conductors, players and other people connected with the ISO. Háskólabíó remained the orchestra's main venue for fifty years until the opening of Harpa Concert Hall in 2011.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the ISO gradually grew and developed. No formal regulations existed on the orchestra's management, and its relationship with sponsors was more or less random. In 1976, Vilhjálmur Hjálmarsson, minister of culture, appointed a committee to write a parliamentary bill for the ISO. The committee wrote a draft, which was rearranged by a new committee appointed in 1978. The proposals underlined the importance of the ISO's independence towards RÚV and Þjóðleikhúsið – the orchestra should be able to stand on its own and not only serve as a satellite of the other two institutions. The parliamentary bill was approved in Alþingi on 26 April 1982.
Institutionalization (1982–2022)
After the passing of the ISO law in 1982, the orchestra received provisions for the national budget. The number of players in the ISO subsequently grew, with 40 salaried players in 1950, 65 in 1986, 72 in 2000, and 95 in 2016.In 1986, the ISO offered season tickets and subscription packages for the first time. The subscription system was based on four types or "series": Yellow series, Red series, Green series and Blue series. The system underwent some changes during the next years and in 2016, it was arranged as follows: Red series, Yellow series, Green series and Blue series.
In 1998, Sigrún Eðvaldsdóttir took the position of 1st concertmaster of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.
Collaborating with Icelandic schools and holding school concerts where students of various ages are invited in groups, during the 2000s, ISO expanded its child-targeted marketing and promotion to a considerable extent. In 2007, Barbara the clown performed as a concert announcer for the first time and in 2008, the ISO introduced Maximús Músíkús, a mouse mascot aimed at young children. In family concerts, Barbara and Maximús became regular guests.
In 2012, the ISO held its first annual Tectonics Festival at the Harpa Concert Hall, as created by Ilan Volkov, chief conductor. In 2013, the principal guest at the festival was composer Christian Wolff. In July 2014, the ISO had 92 members, of whom around 80% were natives to Iceland. The ISO around 2015 held around 60 concerts annually. Concerts were broadcast live on RÚV's Rás 1. In March 2015, the ISO began collaborating with Icelandic telephone company Síminn, broadcasting videos of chosen concerts. Video recordings were accessible to subscribers, but a number of them could be found on the ISO's YouTube channel.
The group again hosted Tectonics Reykjavik in 2014, had recently worked with the metal band Skálmöld, and made its first appearance at The Proms in London, England. In 2015, Tectonics was again held in Harpa, as was the ISO-associated Dark Music Days. In May 2016, the ISO performed two shows with Emilíana Torrini in an unplugged show at Harpa Concert Hall, conducted by Hugh Brunt. In October 2016, the ISO performed certain parts of the score for the 1940 Fantasia, in an event organized with the Reykjavik International Film Festival.
Composer Anna Thorvaldsdóttir took up a residency with the ISO in early 2019. Later that year, she performed at ISO's hosted Dark Music Days event. Also that year, Eva Ollikainen was appointed chief conductor and artistic director in a four-year contract to commence with the 2021 season. In February 2020, the ISO played Usher Hall in Edinburgh with Yan Pascal Tortelier conducting. That month, the orchestra was nominated for five Icelandic Music Awards.
In June 2020, it was announced Björk would perform with sections of the orchestra that August at Harpa. On August 29, 2020, after a 20-day delay, Björk postponed the live-streamed series to 2021. In January and February 2021, Björk also planned to play at Harpa. The plans were scrapped due to COVID-19. After the shows were rescheduled due to COVID-19 regulations, new dates were announced in September, and starting October 11, 2021, Björk performed four shows at Harpa Reykjavik Concert Hall, collaborating with the ISI on a dozen songs from her various albums. The shows were live-streamed.
By January 2021, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra released the recording Occurrence on the record label Sono Luminus. It was performed by the ISO and featured Pekka Kuusisto "leading the violin concerto that Daniel Bjarnason wrote for him," with Bjarnason conducting. The album contains compositions by Anna Þorvaldsdóttir, Haukur Tómasson, María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir and Páll Ragnar Pálsson, and features the soloists Sæunn Þorsteinsdóttir and Víkingur Heiðar Ólafsson. After being last nominated in 2009, the ISO was again nominated for a Grammy in 2021: for Best Orchestral Performance for Concurrence at the 2021 Grammy Awards, losing to the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
In 2021, the ISO performed the score for the film Katla. The ISO performed for some 5,000 people receiving the COVID-19 vaccine in Reykjavik's mass vaccination center in April 2021, after contacting vaccination official and asking to play a concert. At the 2021 Icelandic Music Awards that month, the ISO won Best Group Performer in the Classical and Contemporary Music category.
In October 2021, Víkingur Ólafsson was appointed artist-in-residence for the Iceland Symphony Orchestra's next season, with his residency beginning November 18, 2021. Daníel Bjarnason, as an ISO artist-in-collaboration, was named as director of one of the concerts, among others. When Ólafsson had toured in late 2019 after he was named Gramophone Artist of 2019, Daníel Bjarnason conducted his performance with the ISO.