Artec News Update
Inauguration of Harpa August 20th
Harpa, the new conference and concert centre in Reykjavik, formally inaugurated the opening of the building on August 20, 2011, after a summer full of gala performances starting with the first symphonic music performances under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy in May. The program of the opening featured a variety of icelandic and international artists and was attended by thousands, maybe 20,000 on arnarholl park watching the lighting of the building and fireworks. Read Artec Project Description.
"Harpa have produced a clarity of acoustic that has reportedly moved some performers to tears of joy."
- Rowan Moore, The Guardian
about HARPA: Reykjavík Concert and Conference Center, Reykjavík, Iceland
Trick of the Light
by Rachel Halliburton | Time Out London | August 18-24, 2011
When I talk to the flamboyant leading violinist and conductor Maxim Vengerov, he declares he 'would place it among the top ten concert halls across the world'. . . Read the article
HARPA: Reykjavík Concert and Conference Centre
The artsdesk in Reykjavik: Fanfare for the Harpa Concert Hall
by David Nice | The Arts Desk | August 28, 2011
The acoustic perfection which puts the Eldborg Hall up there with the best in the world has been achieved by Artec Consultants Inc, led by Tateo Nakajima and Edward Arenius . . . Read the article
Harpa – review
Reykjavik's dazzling new concert hall basks in the reflective glory of Olafur Eliasson's inspired design
by Rowan Moore | The Guardian | August 28, 2011
Of course sound, not light, is the main business of a concert hall, and the world is littered with auditoria where acoustics have been sacrificed to spectacle. At Harpa the two are kept apart. If the facade is Eliasson's, the halls are the domain of acoustic consultants Artec, who have guided some of the most successful modern auditoria in the world, and at Harpa have produced a clarity of acoustic that has reportedly moved some performers to tears of joy . . . Read the article
From Harpa press archives
Sigrún Eðvaldsdóttir The Principal Violinist in the Iceland Symphony Orchestra on BBC Radio 3 Music Matters Read from previous news updates
Iceland's hall comes through hard times. by William Littler of The Toronto Star Read the article
HARPA: Reykjavík Concert and Conference Centre May opening Read more
