DANÍEL BJARNASON

movement, rather than the third, is also slightly novel, although this order had been tried out by Schumann, Beethoven, and Haydn.

Of greater significance is Mendelssohn’s effort to link all four movements with virtually no break—again building upon experiments by Schumann and Beethoven. Mendelssohn also claimed that in designating the tempo and character of the finale with the term “Allegro guerriero,”— the latter word meaning “warrior” in Italian—he intended to laud the bravery of the Scottish people. Apart from the work’s fame as an orchestral symphony, its final three movements gained new dimension in 1952, as the musical score for George Balanchine’s ballet Scotch Symphony.

The DSO most recently performed Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3 in May 2021, conducted by Jader Bignamini. The DSO first performed the piece in November 1915, conducted by Weston Gales.

Bjarnason is one of Iceland’s foremost musical voices today, increasingly in demand as conductor, composer, and programmer. He is Artist in Collaboration with Iceland Symphony Orchestra, an appointment that follows his tenures as Principal Guest Conductor and Artist in Residence.

As guest conductor, he debuts this season with Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, where his music has been previously performed; returns to Göteborgs Symfoniker; and is a regular presence in Reykjavík with Iceland Symphony Orchestra throughout the season.

Keeping a busy composing schedule alongside his conducting commitments, many of his works are taken up beyond their premieres and regularly programmed around the world. This season, two new works see world premieres: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, written for Víkingur Ólafsson, and Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra, written for Martin Grubinger, both presented by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony.

Bjarnason has previously conducted Göteborgs Symfoniker, Gävle Symfoniorkester, Aalborg Symfoniorkester, and Turun Filharmoninen Orkesteri in Europe; while in North America he has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Toronto Symphony Orchestra; and in Japan with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.

Bjarnason maintains a close connection with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, having written From Space I Saw Earth for Gustavo Dudamel, Zubin Mehta, and Esa-Pekka Salonen to conduct together at its Centennial Birthday Celebration Concert and Gala in 2019. In 2017, they premiered Bjarnason’s Violin Concerto at the Hollywood Bowl, in a co-commission with Iceland Symphony for Pekka Kuusisto. His Violin Concerto became a great success with audiences and orchestras and remains very popular. Kuusisto has performed it with Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, New York Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Center Orchestra, Swedish Radio and Finnish Radio symphony orchestras, Göteborgs Symfoniker, MDR Sinfonieorchester, and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester. Bjarnason conducts the recording of the work with Kuusisto, as part of the final instalment of a three-album recording project with Iceland Symphony for Sono Luminus focusing on Icelandic music and composers.

Since its premiere in 2017, his first opera, Brothers, for the Danish National Opera and directed by Kasper Holten, based on the Susanne Bier film of the same name, was also revived in Reykjavík by The Icelandic Opera in 2018, and opened Budapest’s 2019 Armel Opera Festival.

Bjarnason conducted the world premiere of Jóhann Jóhannsson’s Last and First Men, a multimedia work narrated by Tilda Swinton, at the 2017 Manchester International Festival with BBC Philharmonic, and subsequently at the Barbican with the London Symphony Orchestra the following year.

A recipient of numerous accolades, in 2018 he was awarded the Optimism prize by the President of Iceland, won the 8th Harpa Nordic Film Composers Award for the feature film Under the Tree, and was nominated for the Nordic Council Music Prize. He also won Composer of the Year, Best Composer/Best Composition, and Best Performer at the Icelandic Music Awards in recent years.

Bjarnason studied piano, composition, and conducting in Reykjavík and pursued further studies in orchestral conducting at Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. He released several albums for the label Bedroom Community. Bjarnason is published by Edition Peters

Leila

Josefowicz’s passionate advocacy of contemporary music for the violin is reflected in her diverse programs and enthusiasm for performing new works.

A favorite of living composers, Josefowicz has premiered many concertos, including those by Colin Matthews, Luca Francesconi, John Adams, and Esa-Pekka Salonen, all written especially for her.

Following summer performances at Sun Valley Music Festival and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Josefowicz’s season began with a return to Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra with Susanna Mälkki and the Austrian premiere of Matthias Pintscher’s Assonanza with Vienna Symphony Orchestra at the Wien Modern Festival. The 2022-23 season sees the introduction of Helen Grime’s Violin Concerto into Josefowicz’s repertoire, which she premieres with St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, and, as part of a special triple bill of three contemporary concerti by Hartmann, Adès, and Grime, with Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Dalia Stasevska. Further orchestral dates include Los Angeles Philharmonic; National Symphony Orchestra Washington; Vancouver, Detroit, and Atlanta symphony orchestras; Konzerthausorchester Berlin, NDR Elbphilharmonie; and Valencia Symphony Orchestra.

Highlights of recent seasons include work with Berliner Philharmoniker; Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich; Royal Concertgebouworkest; Orchestre de la Suisse Romande; Oslo Philharmonic; and Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, The Cleveland, and The Philadelphia orchestras. She has worked with conductors at the highest level, including Matthias Pintscher, John Storgårds, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Louis Langrée, Hannu Lintu, and John Adams. Josefowicz enjoyed a close working relationship with the late Oliver Knussen, performing various concerti together, including his violin concerto more than 30 times. Other premieres have included John Adams’s Scheherazade.2 with the New York Philharmonic, Luca Francesconi’s Duende – The Dark Notes with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Steven Mackey’s Beautiful Passing with the BBC Philharmonic.

Alongside Novacek, with whom she has enjoyed a close collaboration since 1985, Josefowicz has performed recitals at world-renowned venues including New York’s Zankel Hall and Park Avenue Armory, Washington DC’s Kennedy Center and Library of Congress, and London’s Wigmore Hall, as well as in Reykjavík, Chicago, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara. This season their collaboration continues with recitals in Italy, Spain, Canada, and the US.

Josefowicz has released several recordings, notably for Deutsche Grammophon, Philips/Universal, and Warner Classics, and was featured on Touch Press’s acclaimed iPad app, The Orchestra. Her latest recording, released in 2019, features Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s Violin Concerto with Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hannu Lintu. She has previously received nominations for Grammy Awards for her recordings of Scheherazade.2 with the St. Louis Symphony conducted by David Robertson, and Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Violin Concerto with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer.

In recognition of her outstanding achievement and excellence in music, she won the 2018 Avery Fisher Prize and was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship in 2008, joining prominent scientists, writers, and musicians who have made unique contributions to contemporary life.

The 2022–2023 PVS Classical Series closes June 8–10 as the DSO performs a program featuring violinist María Dueñas and a work by Wynton Marsalis. Hear from María, Wynton, and other world-class artists on the DSO’s podcast, Between 2 Stands. Scan the QR code to listen today!

JEFF TYZIK Principal Pops Conductor