Sunday Classics: Iceland Symphony Orchestra

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With a population of barely half a million, it’s remarkable that Iceland can produce such an outstanding international ensemble. For the Iceland Symphony Orchestra is a world-class group with a global reputation for vigorous, strongly defined performances – a prominence that’s only grown under the powerful baton of its Chief Conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier.

They bring their Usher Hall debut concert to a gloriously resonant conclusion with the blazing brass and sumptuous strings of Sibelius’s Tchaikovsky-inspired First Symphony. Beforehand, they’re joined by South Korean pianist and fast-rising star Yeol Eum Son for one of the most unusual – and most demanding – concertos in the repertoire. Ravel wrote his darkly jazzy Piano Concerto for the Left Hand for pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who had lost his right arm in World War One – but its dazzling athleticism is so virtuosic that it’s hard to believe only a single hand is playing.

The Icelandic players complete their compelling programme with a striking piece from their homeland: Anna Thorvaldsdóttir’s Aireality evokes all the raw beauty of the uncompromising Icelandic landscape. In a slight change to the programme Yan Pascall Tortelier will conduct a selection from Bizet’s L’Arlesienne Suites Nos. 1 & 2 rather than Suite No. 2 in its entirety, which transports you to warmer climes as the concert’s sunny opener.