28. September 2010

HARPA - REYKJAVIK CONCERT HALL AND CONFERENCE CENTRE ANNOUNCES PROGRAM FOR ITS OPENING SEASON

HARPA - REYKJAVIK CONCERT HALL AND CONFERENCE CENTRE ANNOUNCES PROGRAM FOR ITS OPENING SEASON

4/5 MAY -  ISO / ASHKENAZY

13 MAY  - Programme to be announced

Other events in May (from 20^th) will be in collaboration with The Reykjavik Arts Festival

Other Programs For The First Year To Include International Conferences And Collaboration With Reykjavik Arts Festival and Iceland Air. 27 September 2010, Reykjavik, Iceland – Representatives from the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, The Icelandic Opera, and Harpa announced today the first details of the series of opening celebrations and inaugural season for Harpa - Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Centre, which will kick off in May 2011 and culminate with the official inauguration of the building in the late summer.

To launch the celebrations, on 4 May 2011, Harpa will present the highly anticipated concert of Beethoven´s 9th Symphony performed by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and led by its Conductor Laureate Vladimir Ashkenazy. Immediately following, on 13 May, Harpa will stage an opening artistic program featuring a diverse musical review by ISO,The Icelandic Opera, and a number of the country's most prominent musicians from various musical fields. And on 20 August, Harpa will celebrate its official inauguration during Reykjavík's Culture Night.

“Harpa's opening celebrations will showcase some of the best musical offerings from Iceland's flourishing musical scene and performances by our treasured Iceland Symphony Orchestra and The Icelandic Opera,” says Pétur J. Eiríksson, Chairman of Portus, Harpa's holding company.

With exceptional concert halls, the largest of which accommodates up to 1,800 people, the long awaited Concert Hall will enhance the vibrant musical culture of Reykjavik. Throughout its inaugural year, Harpa will welcome a dynamic roster of international performances to its stages. Among them will be some of the programs of the Reykjavík Arts Festival, which will include a performance by Jonas Kaufman, one of the best tenors worldwide, produced in collaboration with Reykjavik Art Festival, ISO and Harpa. Another program will be the Nordic Concerts, a five-year project consisting of the world's leading orchestras performing in the Nordic countries: the Israeli Philharmonic will perform at Harpa in October 2011 and the Vienna Philharmonic in February 2012. And finally, Harpa will welcome the musical Chess by Benny Andersson, Tim Rice and Björn Ulvaeus, produced and directed by Páll Baldvin Baldvinsson. Chess will première on 18 June and run throughout the summer of 2011.

In addition to the extensive performance calendar planned for its inaugural year, Harpa has also confirmed several major international conferences through 2013. With state-of-the-art, flexible conference facilities capable of accommodating a wide spectrum of events, Harpa is attracting a variety of corporate, trade, and professional events. Among the associations scheduled for conferences at Harpa in the next three years are: the 41st Annual European Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies conference in the fall of 2011; Via Nordica in the summer of 2012; and the European Orthodontic Society conference in summer of 2013.

About the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and Vladimir Ashkenazy

The Iceland Symphony Orchestra gave its first concert in 1950 and recently celebrated its 60th anniversary. It performs around 60 concerts annually with a wide-ranging repertoire, including traditional classical music, contemporary music, film music, and more. Many of the world's most renowned musicians have appeared with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, including Daniel Barenboim, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, Mstislav Rostropovich, Radu Lupu, Claudio Arrau, and Evelyn Glennie. Vladimir Ashkenazy has conducted the orchestra regularly since the early 1970s and currently holds the position of Conductor Laureate. Principal Guest Conductor of the ISO is Russian conductor Gennadíj Rosdestvenskíj.

The Iceland Symphony Orchestra has recorded widely for international labels, including BIS, Chandos, and Naxos, and has garnered extensive critical acclaim. The orchestra was nominated for a Grammy award in 2008 for Best Orchestral Performance. It has toured widely in Europe and the United States.  In May 2011, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra will move into its new home, Harpa - Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Center. 

In the years since Vladimir Ashkenazy first came to prominence on the world stage in the 1955 Chopin Competition in Warsaw, he has built an extraordinary career, not only as one of the most renowned pianists of our times, but as an artist whose creative life encompasses a vast range of activities and offers inspiration to music-lovers across the world.  For the past 20 years, conducting has formed his primary pursuit working as: Chief Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic; Music Director of NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, Conductor Laureate of the Philharmonia Orchestra; Music Director of the European Union Youth Orchestra; and Conductor Laureate of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Ashkenazy maintains links with other major orchestras with which he has built relationships over the years, including the Cleveland Orchestra; San Francisco Symphony; and Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, and continues to make guest appearances with many other major orchestras around the world. In addition to these musical pursuits, he has developed several music projects for television in the past two decades.

About The Icelandic Opera

The Icelandic Opera was formally founded over 30 years ago and has since been a large contributor to Icelandic musical life, having presented over 60 productions of different operas ranging from Verdi to contemporary Icelandic composers. Before its foundation, opera had held a place in Iceland's musical landscape for years through productions at The National Theatre of Iceland. The Icelandic Opera focuses on local talents from both the musical and the theatrical venue, although foreign artists have also been regular contributors to its productions.

Many Icelandic singers have debuted on the stage of The Icelandic Opera and a majority of Iceland's leading singers have participated in its productions at some point. Amongst  them are Kristinn Sigmundsson, Kristján Jóhannsson, Garðar Cortes, Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir, Ólöf Kolbrún Harðardóttir, Þóra Einarsdóttir, Tómas Tómasson, Sigrún Pálmadóttir, Gunnar Guðbjörnsson and Ólafur Sigurðarson to name a few. The Icelandic Opera is currently led by Artistic and General Director Stefán Baldursson. It will also make Harpa - Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Centre its new home starting in May 2011, where it will produce two to four operas each season.

About Harpa

A striking addition to the Icelandic and European cultural scene, Harpa – Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Centre will open its doors to the public in May 2011. Harpa marries the most important classical music and performance venue in the country with an international conference centre. It will offer a diverse range of performances, from classical to contemporary, and it will be home to the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and The Icelandic Opera. Harpa will also serve as a tourism and business hub, providing flexible facilities for programs and international events.

Harpa's façade is designed by renowned visual artist Olafur Eliasson, the building by Henning Larsen Architects and Batteríið Architects, and the concert hall acoustical design by Artec Consultants Inc. Harpa will be a landmark in the redevelopment of Reykjavik's historic harbour and waterfront area, and a symbol of Iceland's renewed dynamism.

Run by the holding company Portus, in collaboration with the Icelandic government and the City of Reykjavik, Harpa is one of the projects that will further develop the vibrant tourism and business scene of Reykjavik by creating a new waterfront hub. Pétur J. Eiríksson is the Chairman of the holding company Portus, Thorunn Sigurdardottir is the Chairman of the operating company Ago, the structure under which all programs will be run, and Hoskuldur Asgeirsson is Managing Director for Ago.