Often the viola suffers from lack of presentation, boring jokes and some sort of tarnished reputation. As if the violines regard themselves as more beautiful and of bigger importance in the orchestra. However, the Islandic violist Anna Elisabeth Sigurðardottir managed to move this unfair balance of power a sunny Sunday in July in a wonderful, very well played and varied concert in Harpa, Reykjavík.
It happened in good company of some very competent musicians.
Furthermore, the sun was in an excellent mood close to the Arctic Circle.

”Velkomin heim” was the headline of Anna Elísabeth Sigurðardóttir's concert. A tiny concert which was part of a line of concerts organised by the concerthouse Harpa made for musicians who have returned from a study abroad.
In Anna Elísabeth Sigurðardóttir's example the study abroad took place at Det Kgl. Danske Musikkonservatorium in Copenhagen, which she finished in 2023. Now, she is connected to Iceland Symphony Orchestra, who actually is celebrating its 75th Anniversary in the coming season.

The scene could not have been more beautiful this Sunday. Neither the weather. The repertoire for the concert was exciting with versatile music, and there was a nice audience at the open area of Harpa called Hörpuhorni — a nice plateau in the corner af the first floor with Reykjavík as background. As backdrop one could enjoy the characteristic windows. The sun shined through the facade and made the concert even more attractive and made the great architecture shine in a fabulous way. 

With courage, intensity and fragility Anna Elísabeth Sigurðardóttir began the concert solo in a work of the Icelandic female composer Mist Þorkelsdóttir, born in 1960. ”Líf í tuskunni” was its title, which means something like ”Life in the dishcloths”. Real down to earth, close to the kitchentable and grappling with the daily life. The piece is written in 1987 and is originally dedicated to the Icelandic violist Svava Bernharðsdóttir.
Anna Elísabeth Sigurðardottir revealed a very nice sound in her instrument. As the intention of the work predicts, we got to hear both low and very high tones from the viola; a work, in which the viola is in a dialog with itself in a flow of questions and answers, as well as there are many nice rows of tones. The piece made us see how soft an instrument we've got in the viola. ”Líf í tuskunni” is of course a modern piece, and it works out very well in its fragmented style. Anna Elísabeth Sigurðardóttir presented the music with a peaceful mentality, which showed up to be very characteristic for her throughout the concert. 

The intensity continued in the next piece, that was ruled by a significant melancholy in an elevated atmosphere. The Belgian violinist Henri Vieuxtemps (1820-1881) has composed ”Capriccio, Op. 55”, which in a smooth and peaceful minor-universe offers the viola good options to bloom in beautiful, remarkable chords and intense fragility. Henri Vieuxtemps often returns to the starting point of the piece, which makes the piece recognizable and gives the music a focus. Possibly, Anna Elísabeth Sigurðardóttir could  have paied more attention to the passages with most expressivity in order to make the contrasts more powerful. I missed more courage in the more painful parts of the piece. However, one could easily enjoy the end, which Anna Elísabeth Sigurðardóttir finished very beautifuly in soft pizzicato.

The cellist Hjörtur Páll Eggertsson joined her in the very interesting work ”Lullaby & Grotesque” by the Britisch composer Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979). The viola was muted in the beginning, and the duet in the two instruments just gave the goosebumps in the first part's beautiful twisted pattern. A gentle and intense expression made a big impression, before we got to listen to the wonderful lightness and lively duet in the next part. Funny passages and the joy of playing and dancing ruled the rest of the work, and Hjörtur Páll Eggertsson connected very well with Anna Elísabeth Sigurðardottir. Both in strength, expression and temperament. Again, one missed more courage and expression of the powerful places in the work in order to create more significant dynamics.

As a fantastic finale of the concert we got the opportunity to listen to P. Hindemith's ”Sonate for viola and piano, Op. 11, No. 4”. A threefold work beginning with ”Phantasy” followed by ”Theme with variations” and at last ”Finale with variations”. It was a very special experience to listen to this piece live because the connection between Anna Elísabeth Sigurðardottir and Bjarni Frímann was so harmonious, uncomplicated, balanced and just very well functioning. In fact, the soloist had her face turned in front of the audience and not in the direction of Bjarni Frímann, which resulted in a somehow special communication between them – very discreet and somehow hardly existing.

The virtuosic, modern and crooked universe of Hindemith was pure enjoyment; like going for explorement in a new book beeing led through a changing landscape and a totally unpredictable story. Anna Elísabeth Sigurðardottir was very humble in the way she handled the music without any exagerated drama. That fact resulted in a very pleasant experience. Hindemith has a lot on his mind, and his phantasy is immersive. The work appeared superiorly in its diversity: the rumbling atmosphere, upgoing passages and a disturbing mentality were beautifuly played by both musicians. Bjarni Frímann appeared to have a calm and safe take on the work, which made his accompaniment a convenient and strong experience.

Still, the soloist could have paied more attention to the dramatic elements in order to give more power to the mysteries in the music of Hindemith. However, there was still Life in the dishcloths. One was always tuned and excited about the next upcoming movement. 

The one who laughs last, laughs best. Also, Anna Elísabeth Sigurðardottir had the right to smile at the end of the concert — both because of an excellent concert, but also as an overcoming of the many bad jokes about violoists.  

Published July 26th 2024 

Rachel Einarsson