Mac­Mil­lan at Dark Mu­sic Days

Program
Bára Gísladóttir Dægrin – Icelandic premiere
Kjartan Sveinsson New work – World Premiere
Sir James MacMillan Trombone Concerto
Snorri Sigfús Birgisson Concerto No. 2 for Orchestra

Conductor
Sir James MacMillan

Soloist
Jón Arnar Einarsson

The Iceland Symphony Orchestra's concert at the Dark Music Days will premiere two new Icelandic compositions by Bára Gísladóttir and Kjartan Sveinsson. Bára’s career is on the rise, and she has received numerous awards and recognitions during the course of it. Most recently, she received the Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Honorary Award, one of the most prestigious cultural awards given in Denmark. Kjartan Sveinsson has long been recognised as an incredibly versatile musician and composer, not only as one of the frontmen of the band Sigur Rós but also for his compositions that have been performed all over the world. Kjartan has worked closely with the artist Ragnar Kjartansson, the director Rúnar Rúnarsson and many others. The Iceland Symphony Orchestra performed War, a piece by Ragnar and Kjartan, at the National Theatre of Iceland in 2018. The concert will also feature Orchestral Concerto no. 2 by Snorri Sigfús Birgisson, the concerto won the Icelandic Music Award as Composition of the Year in 2024.

Scottish composer Sir James MacMillan is the conductor of the concert, and it is safe to say that he is one of the most well-known composers of our time. The Symphony Orchestra has performed several of his works over the years, but this concert features his Trombone Concerto from 2017. The soloist in this challenging but moving solo concerto is the leader of the orchestra's trombone section, Jón Arnar Einarsson.

The Dark Music Days music festival is one of the oldest music festivals in Iceland, founded in 1980 by the Icelandic Composers' Association, and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra has been a participant in the festival since the beginning.