The L.A. Philharmonic Celebrates Iceland

Son for son, dóttir for dóttir, Iceland may be the most musical nation on earth. It has a population of three hundred and thirty-two thousand—about the same as that of Corpus Christi, Texas—and an international musical presence that is out of all proportion to its size. In April, the Los Angeles Philharmonic hosted the Reykjavík Festival, which sprawled across eight days of programming. There were around fifty musical compositions, six nonclassical groups, and nearly a hundred and fifty Icelandic participants. The corridors of Disney Hall were blonder than usual. Local hotel receptionists contended with names containing þ and ð. A huge installation by the Icelandic artist Shoplifter, consisting of a hovering mass of multicolored hair extensions, occupied one of Disney’s lobby spaces, setting a characteristic Icelandic tone of epic whimsy. And the country’s preëminent musical figure had not yet arrived: in a postlude to the festival, Björk will perform at Disney at the end of May.