Finally, a Concert at Harpa

I’ve wanted to see a concert at Harpa for years. It’s one of those buildings that immediately catches your attention in Reykjavík, and every time I passed it, I wondered what it would be like to attend a performance inside. During this stay in Iceland, I finally made it happen.

On Thursday, September 10, I attended Chamayou Plays Ravel, featuring pianist Bertrand Chamayou, soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan, and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. The concert began at 7:30 p.m. in Eldborg, Harpa’s main concert hall. It also marked Chamayou’s debut as the orchestra’s new artist in residence, making it a particularly lovely evening to choose for my first concert there.

01A Grand Building, an Intimate Space

Harpa is impressive from the outside, but I found the building even more impressive once I had a reason to spend an evening there. There’s something different about arriving for a concert instead of simply walking through a landmark or stopping to take photographs. You get to experience the building doing what it was designed to do.

What surprised me most was the size of Eldborg. From the scale of the building, I had imagined something enormous. Instead, the space felt surprisingly small and intimate.

The building makes such a grand impression, but sitting inside the hall felt much more personal.

I liked that. There was a closeness to the performance that I hadn’t expected. It’s a combination I’m beginning to appreciate in Iceland: impressive cultural experiences that still feel approachable.

02An Evening of Discovery

The program brought together music by Britten, Messiaen, Roussel, and Ravel. There was plenty to take in, from the bird-inspired sounds of Messiaen’s Oiseaux exotiques to Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major.

Having Chamayou and Hannigan share the evening with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra made it an exciting introduction to concerts at Harpa. I didn’t need to know every composition beforehand to enjoy being there. Part of the pleasure was sitting down, listening, and letting the evening introduce me to something.

Knowing this was the beginning of Chamayou’s time as artist in residence added another dimension. My first concert at Harpa happened to coincide with the start of his own chapter with the orchestra.

03The Beginning of My Winter Season

Opera, ballet, and orchestral music are things I look forward to as the weather gets colder. There’s something especially appealing about spending a dark evening inside a theater or concert hall, with a performance giving you a reason to get out.

The Icelandic Opera is also on my mind as I explore more of the cultural life here. Alongside the orchestra, it gives me another reason to pay attention to what’s happening onstage in Iceland.

This was the most beautiful kickoff to my winter season of performances.

It also helped me picture another part of what living here could look like: choosing a concert, making an evening of it, and gradually getting to know the city through its music.

After years of admiring Harpa from outside, I’m glad I finally bought a ticket.