Víkingur and Tortelier

Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky are among the titans of 20^th-century composition. This concert includes seldom-performed pieces for piano and orchestra, Strauss' Burleske and Stravinsky's Capriccio – both of them light-hearted, fun-filled works. Although Strauss was only twenty-one when he wrote Burleske, now heard in concert for the first time in Iceland, the piece was one of his personal favourites, and he even considered it one of his best compositions. Stravinsky's 1929 Capriccio, another humorous and ebullient piece, is reminiscent of Poulenc.

Two decades earlier, Stravinsky had drawn worldwide attention with his spectacular Firebird, which cemented his immediate future. The Firebird has been considered one of the masterworks of the 20^th century ever since. This performance includes a suite of the most famous numbers, among them the powerful and portentous “Infernal dance of King Kashchei”. New orchestral works from Haukur Tómasson are always eagerly anticipated, as Haukur is one of Iceland's foremost composers of his generation and his music is gaining an increased following internationally. 

Víkingur Heiðar Ólafsson has a rapidly growing international reputation for his inspired and impeccably prepared performances. In recent months, he has appeared as soloist with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Vladimir Ashkenazy and has taken over from clarinet virtuoso Martin Fröst as artistic director of the Vinterfest music festival in Sweden.