Iceland Symphony Orchestra
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Ollikainen and the ISO's vivid and colourful accounts cast fresh light on all four works. A recording that will do much to seal Pärt's symphonic legacy for years to come. —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 17th April 2026
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Concurrence
RecommendedISO Project, Vol. 2
Víkingur Ólafsson (piano), Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir (cello), Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Bjarnason
From individual thought and feeling to the creative curiosity and heritage of a people, a strong sense of belonging permeates this impressive second volume of contemporary music from the Iceland... —
Awards:
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The New York Times, Recordings of the Year 2019
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Grammy Awards, 63rd Awards (2021), Nominee - Best Orchestral Performance
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The music whirrs creakily into life through extended notes, never fully forming a clearly defined shape (reminiscent of Jóhannsson’s 2015 Drone Mass)...Bjarnason and the brass section of the... —
Awards:
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2024, Nominated - Symphonic Recording of the Year
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2024, Nominated - Innovative Listening Experience of the Year
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2024, Nominated - Neoclassic Recording of the Year
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Anna Thorvaldsdottir: Archora & Aion
RecommendedAnna Thorvaldsdottir, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Eva Ollikainen
In effect, both works demonstrate the inseparability of time and space – and their key lies finally in Thorvaldsdottir’s extraordinarily subtle, constantly shifting details of foreground and... —
Awards:
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2023
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The Grotesque & The Sublime
Frank Dupree (piano), Vivi Vassileva, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Daníel Bjarnason
The performances capture the energy of the music with skill, notably that of percussionist Vivi Vassileva, for whom Inferno is a tour de force. The release includes a highly appropriate multichannel... —
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Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite, Karelia Suite & Finlandia
RecommendedIceland Symphony Orchestra, Petri Sakari
Most impressive. In its keen intelligence, fiery snap and thrust, Petri Sakari's account of the four Legends proves more than a match for the finest. The Iceland SO may not be world-beaters,... —
Awards:
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Building a Library, April 2005, First Choice
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Vincent d’Indy - Orchestral Works Volume 5
Louis Lortie (piano)
Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Rumon Gamba
For me, the palm goes to the delightful and generally ignored Saugefleurie, where duty bows before inspiration. Throughout, the playing is warm and unfussy. —
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Rumon Gamba plays the [Symphonie Italienne] straight, without fuss, and the results are excellent. —
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Occurrence: ISO Project, Vol. 3
Pekka Kuusisto (violin), Mario Caroli (flute), Thurídur Jónsdóttir (tape), Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Daníel Bjarnason
[Bjarnason's] Violin Concerto opens the album with a spectacular performance by soloist Pekka Kuusisto. Intensely virtuosic, the violin is nonetheless always part of a greater whole: from folky,... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, April 2021, Editor's Choice
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Vincent d’Indy - Orchestral Works Volume 6
Bryndís Halla Gylfadóttir (cello)
Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Rumon Gamba
Gamba's conducting evinces the care and thought characteristic of the retrospective as a whole. There's an admirable awareness of the crafted sensuousness of d'Indy's textures, the slightly... —
