Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky

It took Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev eight years to complete his third piano concerto. A formidable pianist, he premiered it himself in Chicago in the autumn of 1921. A year later, he performed the piece under the baton of his compatriot Serge Koussevitzky in Paris and it has since been considered one of the greatest piano works of the 20th century. The Chinese-American pianist Claire Huangci perform this thrilling work with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in this concert, making her second appearance with the orchestra. Her Ravel concerto performance in 2023 was immensely successful and her interpretation garnered praise from a leading Icelandic newspaper as, ”fresh, rich, thrilling and insightful” (Fbl.).

The sixth symphony of Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, also known as the Pathétique, was his final composition, with Tchaikovsky passing away just nine days after conducting the premiere of the work in St. Petersburg in the autumn of 1893. "I have poured my soul into this symphony," the composer wrote about the piece, considering it his best work. The composition is passionate and melancholic, and instead of resolving its conflicts into triumphant joy, as was common in 19th-century symphonies, it concludes in a particularly original and influential manner; in slow, profound sorrow.

"This Midnight Hour" by British composer Anna Clyne will have its Icelandic premiere at this concert. The work is inspired by the poems "La Música" by Juan Ramón Jiménez and "Harmonie du soir" by Charles Baudelaire. Clyne describes the piece as follows: "Although it does not contain any specific narrative, it is my hope that it evokes a visual journey for the listener."