IS

The Unfinished Symphony

World renowned harpist and Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony

Date Location Price
4 Feb 2021 » 20:00 - 21:00 » Thursday Eldborg | Harpa 2.400 – 5.700 ISK
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  • Program

    Alberto Ginastera Harp Concerto
    Franz Schubert Symphony no. 8, “Unfinished”
    Þuríður Jónsdóttir Flow and Fusion

  • Conductor

    Eva Ollikainen

  • Soloist

    Xavier de Maistre

  • Host

    Halla Oddný Magnúsdóttir

This concert of the Iceland Symphony features works by Ginastera, Schubert, and Icelandic composer Þuríður Jónsdóttir under the baton of Chief Conductor Eva Ollikainen. 

Xavier de Maistre has ranked among the world's leading harpists for over 20 years. In 1999, he became the first French instrumentalist to be hired by the Vienna Philharmonic, and a few years later he became the first harpist to perform as a soloist on the Philharmonic's subscription concert programme. A multiple award winner with numerous recordings to his credit, he also teaches in Hamburg and gives master classes at the Juilliard School in New York, as well as in Tokyo and London. Icelandic concertgoers heard him and soprano Diana Damrau at the Reykjavík Arts Festival in 2013, but this is his first concerto performance in Iceland.

Franz Schubert only completed the first two movements of his “unfinished” symphony, and his reason for aborting the attempt remains unknown. The two movements are filled with drama and pathos, as well as gentle lyricism. Þuríður Jónsdóttir's award-winning Flow and Fusion is a fascinating synthesis of orchestral and electronic sounds; the composer says that she had in mind “different streams of flowing hot magma that unites in one swirling stream of lava.”

Þuríður Jónsdóttir's Flow and Fusion is a captivating merger of electronic and orchestral sounds that the composer says reflected “different streams of hot, flowing magma that fuse together in a single semi-liquid mass of churning lava.”

Listen to the concert live on Channel 1 (Rás 1) of the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV).

Ticket sales and concertgoer's guide
In accordance to local health regulations and to ensure the safety of our patrons, the Eldborg concert hall in Harpa has been divided into several areas, each with a maximum capacity of 50 guests. To ensure space between guests, one empty seat will be reserved between each ticket order. We also offer seats that ensure a distance of 2 meters on all sides, but these tickets must be booked through the Harpa ticket office, tel. 528-5050. Read our concertgoer's guide here