Icelandic Symphony Orchestra
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Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands or the Iceland Symphony Orchestra (ISO), widely considered to be one of the leading Nordic orchestras, continues to attract audiences through its high standards of performance coupled with innovative programming.
[edit] Foundation
For centuries, Iceland’s cultural heritage had been firmly rooted in literature, with the Icelandic Sagas as the grand pillar. In modern sense, music has only been part of the country culture since mid 19th century. A small population of tiny coastal villages and scattered farms, along with centuries of isolation and foreign sovereignty had not provided to be fertile soil for cultural achievements.
But, prosperity and the dawn of independence at the turn of the century were the means for richer culture and soon serious attempts to form a professional orchestra began. The foundation of the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service and the Reykjavík College of Music, both in 1930 proved one of the cornerstones for the formation of the orchestra, but formally, the orchestra was not established until March 9, 1950. In such a short time since then it may seem strange that the country has reach such high level of artistry as the ISO clearly manifests.
The ISO gives approximately sixty concerts each season, including subscription concerts in Reykjavík, and tours both in Iceland and abroad, with recent visits to the Faroes, Greenland, Germany, Austria, France, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and North America. The year 2000 tour to USA and Canada was the most extensive one the orchestra has done. The American press embraced the performances of the orchestra and the tour was considered a major success for the ISO.
Over the years, many renowned guest artists have enriched the ISO's music making, most notably Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yehudi Menuhin, Wilhelm Kempff, Claudio Arrau, André Previn, Daniel Barenboim, Luciano Pavarotti, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Emil Gilels, Mstislav Rostropovich and Joshua Bell to mention but few.
The post of chief conductor has also been filled by many important conductors who, over the years, have greatly influenced the orchestra's development, such as Olav Kielland and Karsten Andersen from Norway, Bohdan Wodiczko from Poland, Jean-Pierre Jacquillat from France, Petri Sakari and Osmo Vänskä from Finland and the last one, Rico Saccani from USA. British conductor Rumon Gamba is now the Chief Conductor and Musical Director of ISO.
Vladimir Ashkenazy accepted the post of "conductor laureate" in 2002.
[edit] 2003/2004 season
On the night of November 14, 2003, the ISO collaborated with the famous pop/rock band Todmobile in a live concert in the Laugardalshöll in Reykjavík & released the live CD Sinfónía.
