Program

Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 8

Conductor

Eva Ollikainen

Soloists

Bryndís Guðjónsdóttir

Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir

Dísella Lárusdóttir

Anna Kissjudit

Hanna Dóra Sturludóttir

Simon O’Neill

Ólafur Kjartan Sigurðarson

Tómas Tómasson

Choirs

The Motet Choir

Hljómeyki

Philharmonia Choir

Langholtskirkja Choir

Kársnes School Choir

Choir directors

Stefan Sand

Magnús Ragnarsson

Álfheiður Björgvinsdóttir

The performance of Mahler's 8th Symphony is without a doubt a major event in the Icelandic music scene and marks a milestone in the history of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. This masterpiece of musical history has never before been performed in Iceland, and now there is no expense spared. The symphony was nicknamed “the Symphony of Thousands” early on, because its performance calls for an unusual high number of performers, both singers and instrumentalists. On stage will be nearly four hundred performers, an unusually large orchestra, eight soloists, a choir and a children's choir. Mahler composed this moving piece of music in just six weeks in 1906, a towering celebration of love and humanity, full of optimism and faith in humanity. Mahler was convinced that the work's message applied to the whole world, and even today, the performance of the work is a truly international musical event every time.

This concert will also be Eva Ollikainen's farewell as principal conductor. She has been the principal conductor and artistic director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra since 2020.

The concert is a collaborative project between the Reykjavík Arts Festival and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.