Trifonov plays Beethoven

Daniil Trifonov is one of the most revered pianists of the present day – “without question the most astounding pianist of our age,” wrote the critic from The Times. Trifonov shot to stardom with his victory in the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 2011, then only twenty years of age. Since then he has received a Grammy award and been named Artist of the Year by both Gramophone and Musical America. He has recorded a number of discs for Deutsche Grammophon and has performed with all of the world's leading orchestras, in addition to his positions as Artist-in-Residence with the New York Philharmonic and the Berlin Philharmonic. For his first performance with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Trifonov plays Beethoven's lyrical and captivating Piano Concerto no. 4.

The programme begins with the powerful Egmont Overture, Beethoven's musical depiction of the tragic fate of a man who sacrifices his life in a war against Spanish oppression in the 16th century.

Anna Thorvaldsdóttir has established herself in the front ranks worldwide in recent years, receiving exceptional acclaim for her works. She has written music for the Berlin Philharmonic, among others, and received a number of international prizes for her work.
 Anna's newest orchestral piece, ARCHORA, will be premiered in summer 2022 at the BBC Proms festival in London's Royal Albert Hall, and will then be performed by the ISO at the beginning of the 2022-2023 season. Orchestras the world over have already added the piece to their rosters, as a new work by Anna Thorvaldsdóttir is considered a major event.

The programme concludes with Jean Sibelius' passionate and intense Symphony no. 7, the composer's last symphony, written only a few years before he retired from composing. The performance of this unusually original and engaging work is led by the ISO's Chief Conductor, Eva Ollikainen, who is truly on her home turf when conducting Sibelius.