Eva Conducts Strauss

Richard Strauss was one of the most remarkable composers of the Late Romantic period. The Iceland Symphony's 2021-2022 season will cast the spotlight on his music, with Eva Ollikainen conducting seven of his works on subscription concerts. This programme features three of them – three vastly different pieces spanning more than half a century. Strauss' tone poem about the picaresque Till Eulenspiegel brings a smile to listeners' faces with every performance, while the suite from Der Rosenkavalier features heartfelt love songs juxtaposed with lively Viennese waltzes.

Finnish soprano Camilla Nylund is one of the world's best in her field. She has sung at all of the leading opera houses, and critics are unanimous in praising the beauty of her voice and the sensitivity of her interpretation. “A sheer revelation,” said one German critic, while another rhapsodised about her “golden voice.” In Iceland, Nylund will sing Strauss' Four Last Songs, which he completed towards the end of his life, demoralised by the horrors of World War II. His compositional gifts remained intact, however, and the Four Last Songs are among the most beautiful farewells to earthly life ever written.

Daníel Bjarnason wrote his most recent orchestral work for the centenary of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which premiered it to great acclaim in November 2019. The piece was inspired by the 1969 moon landing and the view of the Earth from outer space. The work is conceived for three conductors. At its premiere, three former and current LA Philharmonic conductors took the podiums: Gustavo Dudamel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Zubin Mehta. The performance in Eldborg will be conducted by Eva Ollikainen, Kornilios Michailidis, and the composer himself.

Captivating Strauss songs performed by one of the premier sopranos of the Nordic region.