A festival devoted to the work of Icelandic luthier Hans Jóhannsson concluded on Sunday 15 October with a concert at the Harpa concert hall in Reykjavík. The festival is thought to be the first of its kind dedicated to a living violin maker.
Here, 23 instrumentalists perform Richard Strauss’s Metamorphosen on instruments crafted by Jóhannsson over his 45-year career.
‘After all the years that I lived abroad, I am always surprised at how many amazing string players there are right here at home,’ said Jóhannsson. ‘Part of it is an excellent system of music schools for small children and of course the widespread general public’s interest in music and concerts in general, but there seems to be a tendency for classically trained musicians to cross musical and media boundaries. This is possibly because Iceland doesn´t have a long musical canon to adhere to and it might therefore be easier to break rules in a creative way.‘
Gallery: festival dedicated to luthier Hans Jóhannsson concludes in Iceland
Read: Reykjavík to host festival dedicated to contemporary luthier
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