Jón Leifs believed the purpose of true art was to strengthen people and provide them with the stamina to endure life's tribulations.
Performer Biography
Osmo Vänskä, the conductor, won the international Besançon competition for young conductors in 1982 and has held chief conductor positions with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Composer Biography
Jón Leifs used composition as an outlet for his emotions during difficult life crises, creating some of his finest works during these times.
Composition History
Jón Leifs's last work, Consolation, Intermezzo for string orchestra, was composed in the spring of 1968 while he was dying of lung cancer in a Reykjavik hospital.
Historical Context
The Iceland Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1950, is one of Europe's youngest national orchestras, reflecting the intense musicality of an island nation with a short history of performing arts.
Composer Biography
Jón Leifs, the composer, left Iceland at 17 to study at the Leipzig Conservatory of Music during World War I, embracing Central European culture.
