Interview with an important Icelandic pianist

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1. She is a pianist who likes Mozart and Mendelssohn: how are the same characteristics that make them similar for your eyes?

For me, Mozart and Mendelssohn are kindred spirits, their music has the same characteristics which are delicate classical structures and unearthly lyricism. This results in balanced proportions of every aspect of the music, be it the melodies, the rhythm or chord-progressions - never any excessiveness. The emotions I sense in their music are the collective feelings of mankind rather than the individual sentiments of each composer.

2. How does she preparing your future plays about Mahler and Brahms?

Brahms is another composer with whom I feel a close connection, I have played many of his chamber works and songs, the Intermezzi are also a part of my repertoire and my wish is to sing in his Requiem someday. His music expresses personal emotion as no other composer so when I prepare to perform the music of Brahms I open my emotional channels more than for most other composers. Mahler on the other hand is a great composer but does not affect my emotions in the same way.

3. Does she listen historical recordings to take inspiration when plays? In case yes, what?

Yes, indeed, I treasure the individual interpretation to be found in historical recordings. To name some artists I will mention Clara Haskil, Dinu Lipatti, Wilhelm Kempff, Walter Gieseking, Ignaz Friedman, Rubinstein and Horowitz. I was lucky enough to hear Horowitz live in London in one of the last performances, it was truly inspiring to experience a glimpse of an era.

4. How are the recording she made with Naxos?

I´m proud of my two Naxos recordings, one with the complete Mendelssohn works for violin and piano and the other featuring selected solos and chamber works of Iceland´s first composer Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson. Both these projects are unique as they premiere the collections in question on CD. The Mendelssohn Sonatas are gradually becoming better known and the shorter pieces included on the CD reveal the composer´s ties to the Baroque. As for the music of Sveinbjörnsson this is of course completely unknown repertoire and a historic treasure for Iceland. Its naïve lyricism combined with Nordic folk sound is quite unusual and charming.

5. What conductor would she like to know and to collaborate with? If she could make a question, what kind of question will she send him?

I would like to know Mr. Louis Langrée Music Director of the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York. My question for him would be: "Would you be interested in collaborating with me on the two Mozart piano concertos in C major K. 467, inclusive of my own cadenzas, and the A major concerto K. 488?"

6. In your opinion, does the big evolution about classic music studies and executions conducts them to a cold executions?

No, not by any measure. On the contrary, I believe that the more we learn about the performance practice and period instruments of previous centuries we´ll experience greater freedom to make informed interpretation decisions.

7. The evolution of interpretation in '900 was powerful: is there the hope for the future of another evolution or not?

Of course there is hope for another evolution of interpretation in the 21st century and we are probably in the midst without realizing it. We should accordingly prepare to accept major changes in traditional parameters. By this I´m referring to the fact that as a result of globalization in our age of technology, traditional parameters of emotional stimulation for instance, have changed. Our attention spans are shorter, our reliance on visual stimulation is greater, our emotional life is even more complicated thus it is not unreasonable to expect a different kind of interpretation to move us. The question is though, different in what ways?