Ari Þór and Osmo Vänskä

Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä is an honorary conductor of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, having been its principal conductor from 1993 to 1996, its principal guest conductor from 2014 to 2019 and a frequent a frequent and celebrated guest conductor ever since. The collaboration has been fruitful and the orchestra has performed many unforgettable concerts under his direction. The program of this concert is exceptionally rich and splendid, featuring the premiere of a new violin concerto by Þórður Magnússon with the violinist Ari Þór Vilhjálmsson as soloist. Þórður has been active in the Icelandic music scene for decades, combining in a unique way a fresh, contemporary outlook with a deep and knowledgeable appreciation for the music of the past. The violin concerto will be his fifth work performed by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.

Violinist Ari Þór Vilhjálmsson played with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 2015 and now appears as a soloist with the orchestra for the tenth time. He served as the associate concertmaster of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra for many years and currently holds the same position with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in Tel Aviv. In addition to his solo appearances, he has served as guest concertmaster with orchestras such as the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse in France.

Jennifer Higdon is one of the foremost contemporary composers in the United States. Her work "blue cathedral" received great acclaim last season under the direction of Stéphane Denève. In this concert, the orchestra performs her piece "Concerto for Orchestra," composed in 2002. Echoing Bartók's work of the same name, Higdon's concerto for orchestra is in five movements, demanding dazzling virtuosity and musicianship from the orchestra's players. The concert overture "In the South (Alassio)" was composed by Edward Elgar during a family vacation in Italy. He had intended to compose a conventional symphony but became so captivated by the atmosphere that he instead crafted this enchanting overture, a kind of tone poem infused with Italian colors.