Different Locations, Reykjavik, Iceland
30th October to 3rd November 2013
Iceland Airwaves Day 2: Olafur Arnalds and The Iceland Symphony Orchestra
Second day performances were located in eleven ON-venues: Amsterdam, Gamla Bio, Gamli Gaukurinn, Harlem, Harpa Eldborg, Harpa Kaldalon, Harpa Nordurljos, Harpa Silfurberg, Hresso, Idno and Reykjavik Art Museum. Without any hesitations in this time we have chosen a venue of the evening - Harpa Eldborg. Tickets needed to be picked up in advance in a day-time and we successfully managed this task.
Usually, having a wristband on your hand could be enough to pass to any venue. But that festival session had two events where you have to have ticket. First was in that day, 31st of October, OLAFUR ARNALDS and The Iceland Symphony Orchestra (we’ve been lucky and got our tickets without any troubles), and second ticket evening was the KRAFTWERK show on November 3rd (that time, after 1.5 hours in line I was not really successful, as well as few hundred people before and after me). I wouldn’t call this ticket system fair, because even though you have bought your festival ticket half a year in advance, no guarantees that you will get a ticket on the event you wanted to go. But getting back to the second day…
In the first part of concert: Iceland Symphony Orchestra (conductor was Andre de Ridder) presented, recomposed by Max Richter, ‘The four seasons’ by Antonio Vivaldi with Elfa Run Kristinsdottir (violin) as a soloist. Elfa Run is an Icelandic talented musician, soloist, concertmaster who has received the Icelandic Music Award (2006) as the Brightest hope and won the first prize in Johann Sebastian Bach competition in Leipzig (2006). Andre de Ridder is a well-known conductor who works with musicians of different genres and backgrounds. He conducted the premiere of OLAFUR ARNALDS’ ‘For Now I Am Winter’ in London. Max Richer is a British composer who studied in Florence. In October of this year, Max Richter and violinist Daniel Hope received the German “ECHO Klassik” for recomposed version of ‘The four seasons’.
Usually I am sceptical about any kind of rearrangements of classical music but this music as well as performance was great. Max Richter kept the main themes of Vivaldi in a very suitable way and there were not any contradictions in this re-composition. The audience was satisfied. After the break, at the second part of the concert, OLAFUR ARNALDS introduced ‘For Now I am the Winter’ (his third album). Now they call this genre neo-classical, the intertwining of instrumental orchestra music and electronic rhythms. The audience was really satisfied and gave their standing ovations to the musicians.
OLAFUR ARNALDS was born in the 1986. He is an Icelandic composer, multi-instrumentalist, widely known and very actively traveling with his concerts all around the globe. OLAFUR ARNALDS has been involved with various projects – composing for many films, television shows and advertisements. You would definitely get impressed if you look into his travel agenda. And, btw, he has three concerts in Germany in current November: 14/11 in Leverkusen, 23/11 in Darmstadt and 29/11 in Dresden. 
Next day I was sitting and relaxing in the Harpa hall between concerts, talked with colleague. Unexpectedly he said: “By the way, do you know who Is sitting just right next to you?” – “No.” – “OLAFUR ARNALDS, he played with an orchestra yesterday.” – “!!!” - “You are in Iceland!”. Exactly, in this country you can sit in the corridor together with a celebrity without any pathos. That’s Airwaves! https://www.facebook.com/olafurarnalds / www.olafurarnalds.com
Music
First part: Antonio Vivaldi - Spring (Allegro, Largo, Allegro, Pastorale), Summer (Allegro non molto, Adagio e piano - Presto e forte, Presto), Autumn (Allegro, Adagio molto, Allegro), Winter (Allegro non molto, Largo, Allegro).
Second part: Olafur Arnalds ‘For Now I Am Winter’
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 8
Sound: 9
Light: 8 (but so far away)
Total: 8.5 / 10
All pictures by Ekaterina Golitsyna (http://golitsyna.com/)
