Víkingur Heiðar Ólafsson joined the roster in 2021 as artist in residence and Bertrand de Billy the same year as principal guest conductor.
[2] The first known instance of an orchestra concert in Iceland was on May 22, 1921, when a group of 20 jobbing musicians played for King Christian X of Denmark who was on official visit in the country.
A group of musicians, led by composers Páll Ísólfsson (1893-1974) and Jón Þórarinsson (1917-2012), wrote a formal proposal to the government where suggestions of administration and ownership of the planned orchestra were put forward.
However, the beginning was unpromising from a financial perspective: Operating costs were higher than applied to any other musical institution of the country, no budget estimates had yet been made and the public response was marked by lack of interest.
Bjarni Benediktsson, minister of culture, was the main advocate of the new title and showed great interest in defining the orchestra as a national treasure.
In 1960, the orchestra's board found itself relapsing into financial difficulties, partly due to a high inflation which annually reduced the Icelandic króna's purchasing power by around 10%.
Collaboration with Þjóðleikhúsið remained virtually unchanged until 1971 when a contract was made between the two institutions, loosening the ISO's players from their former duties as unpaid participants in the theatre's performances.
[14] The proposals underlined the importance of the ISO's independence towards RÚV and Þjóðleikhúsið – the orchestra should be able to stand on its own and not only serve as a satellite of the other two institutions.
In 2007, Barbara the clown (played by Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir) performed as concert announcer for the first time and in 2008, the ISO introduced Maximús Músíkús, a mouse mascot aimed at young children.
[citation needed] In 2012, the ISO held its first annual Tectonics Festival at the Harpa Concert Hall, as created by Ilan Volkov, chief conductor.
[21] The group again hosted Tectonics Reykjavik in 2014, had recently worked with the metal band Skálmöld,[20] and made its first appearance at The Proms in London, England.
[37] The album contains compositions by Anna Þorvaldsdóttir, Haukur Tómasson, María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir and Páll Ragnar Pálsson, and features the soloists Sæunn Þorsteinsdóttir and Víkingur Heiðar Ólafsson.
[48] During his stay in Iceland, Wodiczko was greatly motivated by his ambition to enhance the local cultural scene; in a 1961 interview he stated that his monthly salary with the ISO roughly equalled the amount they would receive for a single concert in Europe.
[49] The ISO's repertoire underwent considerable changes during Wodiczko's time in office, moving enhancingly towards modern music instead of classical and romantic compositions.
Sakari often described his views on how the ISO's board might improve the orchestra's conditions, e.g. by hiring more players, financing more trips abroad and creating the position of assistant conductor.
When asked about his aims for the ISO, Saccani declared that he wanted to focus on more southern and operatic styles of music and highlight compositions by Italian, Spanish and French composers.
[58] Saccani renewed his contract in 2000 and was supposed to serve as conductor until 2002, but in March 2001, he abruptly abandoned the position, left the country and was unreachable for weeks.
[59] Several rumors surrounded Saccani's retirement: An opinion poll is said to have been held among the ISO's players where the results were confidential and clearly expressing a negative view towards the conductor.
Shortly after he started working in Iceland, Volkov stated in an interview that he had accepted the position because he was interested in finding a venue where he could develop his ideas more freely.
[68] In June 2019, the ISO announced the appointment of Ollikainen as its next chief conductor and artistic advisor, effective with the 2020–2021 season, with an initial contract through 2024.
He conducted the orchestra fourteen times during the next six years, but in September 1978, an interview was published in Gramophone where Ashkenazy described the players of the ISO as "semi-professionals".
In the interview, Ashkenazy even made the following expression when speaking about the players of the ISO: "Sometimes they produce interesting musical performances but technically they are not very good.
Helga Hauksdóttir, chairman of the ISO's company union, expressed her disappointment in an interview with Morgunblaðið where a strong sense of dissension can be noted: "If Vladimir Ashkenazy wants to compare the ISO with the world’s first-rate orchestras, we must be allowed to reply in the same spirit and compare his talents as conductor with some of the excellent conductors who have worked with us during the last few years.
Conductors and musicians who performed in Háskólabíó remained unsatisfied with the building's acoustics from the beginning, even if some improvements were made, e.g. by installing large panels on the walls of the theatre's main hall.
On 15 May 1983, an article by building contractor Ármann Örn Ármannsson appeared in Morgunblaðið, deploring the lack of a venue for symphony concerts in Iceland.
The organization was simply entitled Association towards building a concert hall (Samtök um byggingu tónlistarhúss; SBT) and was prominent on the cultural scene during the next years.
Two years later, the SBT was allocated a building site in Laugardalur, east of Reykjavík's city centre, where the anticipated concert hall was supposed to rise.
On 26 February 1985, The Philharmonia Orchestra played in a benefit concert, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy, in Royal Festival Hall in London and donated all the income to SBT.
In May 2003, Vladimir Ashkenazy heavily criticized the tardiness of Icelandic politicians on a meeting with the ISO and declared that he would "probably find it difficult to travel from the cemetery to conduct the orchestra".
In 1986, an album entitled Í takt við tímann ("In keeping with the times") where the ISO performed a selection of Icelandic pop classics.