Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.07.2016, Síða 44

Music 44The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 9 — 2016
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Dunkin
It’s hard to miss the ten thousand
geometric glass panels forming the
Harpa concert hall and conference
centre. And with the addition of
this summer’s Reykjavík Classics
programme, the performing arts
centre hopes to attract even more
attention.
The new series is a year-long col-
laborative effort between Harpa
and Reykjavík City, spearheaded
by artistic director and classical
pianist Nína Margrét Grímsdóttir.
Iceland’s noticeable influx of tour-
ists during the summer months
inconveniently (or conveniently,
dependent upon who you ask) co-
incides with the Iceland Symphony
Orchestra and Icelandic Opera’s
respite. Thus visitors and classical
enthusiasts alike are denied that
particular elation which arises only
from listening to Schumann in a
proper acoustic setting. This in-
justice will be put right beginning
June 30. Daily classical concerts
running from noon to 12:30 allow
for a quick lunchtime dalliance
with live music in the famous El-
dborg Hall.
Classical music reactions are
varied and can be dramatic. At
times, the genre connotes pom-
posity and images of cravats. How-
ever these affiliations are slowly
changing and they’re stereotypes
Nína hopes to eradicate within the
series. “I’m adamant that people
feel they don’t have to be experts,”
she says. “So for instance, I tried
to choose classical favorites like a
Mozart flute quartet. At the same
time I felt the programmes had to
be innovative. For example, a gui-
tar and piano duo, we don’t hear
that much. But nothing is too com-
plicated, it’s just beautiful music,
that’s my criteria.” Concertgoers
won’t find any dress-code stipula-
tions or musical-theory prerequi-
sites.
Eldborg hall is touted for its in-
credible acoustics. You may have
forgotten what non-amplified
music sounds like. As a quick PSA:
not all sounds need come through
speakers. “The acoustic part is very
important,” Nína says. “Today, I
don’t think we hear much music
that is acoustic because everything
is amplified but it’s important to ex-
ercise your listening capabilities.”
In total, the Reykjavík Classics
series will include 46 concerts,
seven programmes and twelve per-
formers, on a rotating schedule.
Performances range from quartets
to trumpet ensembles to piano and
flute duos, entirely composed of
Icelandic musicians. Herself a clas-
sically trained pianist, Nína will
be among the twelve performers.
Others will include members of the
Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the
Icelandic Opera, and trusted col-
leagues from way back in the day.
Surprisingly, Nína says, tradi-
tional chamber music isn’t regu-
larly played in Eldborg, hence the
need for the likes of Manuel Ponce,
Astor Piazzolla, and, perhaps the
up-and-comer of the group, Wolf-
gang Amadeus Mozart. “I’m not
focusing particularly on Icelan-
dic pieces or contemporary music
because I feel that there are other
concert series that are doing jus-
tice to that,” she says. “In a way, I
feel we live in a society where there
is so much demand for everything
to be new and everything to have
never been done before. I’m go-
ing kind of against that because I
think it’s important to take care of
our traditional things that are tried
and tested. So we have the master-
works, and they’re always valid.”
Reykjavík Classics begins Thursday,
June 30 and runs daily until Sunday,
August 14. Admission is 3,500 ISK—
purchase tickets via en.harpa.is/
events/reykjavik-classics-1.
Classical Music
For The Masses
Words KELLY REES Photo