Reykjavík Grapevine - 29.08.2014, Síða 39

A meal at the elevated fourth floor
of Harpa concert hall is a destination in itself.
Relax and enjoy fine Italian cuisine complemented
with a spectacular panoramic view of Reykjavík
and the surrounding horizon.
UNIQUE
EXPERIENCE
AND A VIEW
LIKE NO OTHER
Kolabrautin is on
4th floor Harpa
Reservations
+354 519 9700
info@kolabrautin.is
www.kolabrautin.is
ICELANDIC FRESHNESS
MEETS ITALIAN TRADITION
not exclusively about orchestral music,
the orchestra lies at its core,” he
continues. “Whilst it is an old established
organization, it’s still got an amazing
amount of flexibility and options. Giving
young composers access to working
with such a large range of instruments
is important and can have some amazing
results, especially if it’s happening
every year. That way, we can hopefully
hear development between composers
and pieces influenced by each other.
The orchestra can then hopefully
become something that has movement.
Something that shifts the ground and
the perspective on what can be done
orchestrally.”
It turns out that the festival’s title,
“Tectonics,” isn’t just yet another lazy
reference to Icelandic geography—it
actually alludes to what Ilan hopes to
achieve with the festival. Admittedly a
layman in the field, I express my doubts
that such a traditional organization would
have any interest in being torchbearers of
musical experimentation. And Ilan shoots
me down before I even manage to
utter the word “elitism.”
“Elitism isn’t an issue here”, he
tells me. “The orchestra is just used to
doing certain things in a certain way,
and when asked to do something else
it can be a bit of a shock. So things
did happen, especially this year. The
players all handled it very well in the
end, but clashes are a part of this
whole process. It’s even in the name,
Tectonics. It’s not supposed to be easy
for the listeners, the players nor for
myself. It’s supposed to be something
that people can argue about and
discuss like any true exhibition or
interesting artwork, and in that sense
it worked really well with the Icelandic
Symphony Orchestra.”
When I ask him if the Icelandic
scene turned out to be what he’d hoped
for, Ilan again grows contemplative.
“The advantage
I had coming to
Iceland was that
because everybody
knows everyone, I
already knew a lot
of musicians and
composers before
I started. It’s a
small scene in a
small country, but
for that it’s kind of
amazing how many
people are doing
good music.”
Ilan is of the
opinion that what
characterizes the
Icelandic music
scene is the cha-
meleon-like quality
of the nation’s
musicians. “There
is a massive amount
of people doing more than one thing,
which I really like—people shift from
being in bands to arranging or playing
free-improvisation or whatever. I think
this is partly by necessity, but also
because of a certain spirit. The kind of
music that is being created in Iceland
isn’t actually super modern, really. It’s
more about strong communication
with an audience and emotions and
ideas, with humour and energy playing
a big part as well.”
Life after the ISO
Ilan himself is certainly a jack-of-all-
trades. In addition to being a conductor
and festival curator, he moonlights as a
club promoter in Tel Aviv, and a musician.
For example, the same weekend he
conducted Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
at the Royal Albert hall, he played a free-
improv concert with
celebrated drummer
Chris Corsano in
London and a show
in Glasgow with his
violin duo Lovers
Ritual.
“I think you’re
trying to compart-
mentalize this too
much, I’m not that
far removed from the
Icelandic musician
that does a lot of
different stuff,” he
replies when I ask
him about the many
different aspects of
his work. “My work
is conducting and I
want to keep doing
that. Gradually over
the last ten years I’ve
been doing lots of
other things, but it’s just a continuation
of my interest in music. I love the contrast
of working in different avenues, be it
promoting, curating or playing, and I’m in
an interesting position in that I can talk
to people from different backgrounds
that have different perspectives on what
music, art—or even just life—is."
“I don’t do this to confuse people,
but right now I’m just doing what I do. I’ve
stopped caring about what people expect
me to do.”
39The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 13 — 2014 MUSIC
“The issue isn’t about
money, it’s simply
whether we think
culture is important or
not? Do we want it as
a tourist thing, a stamp
that says ‘Iceland Is
Culture,’ or do we really
want to make it the best
that it can be?”