Reykjavík Arts Festival will be held from 30 May to 14 June 2026, and with a year to go, it is time to announce the first events of the programme — the first festival programmed by new Artistic Director, Lára Sóley Jóhannsdóttir.

One of the opening events will be Iceland Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony at Harpa Concert Hall — a monumental masterpiece in the history of music, never before performed in Iceland. The stage will host around 400 performers: an expanded orchestra, eight soloists and choirs. This work is a hymn to love and humanity, filled with optimism. The concerts will be conducted by Eva Ollikainen, chief conductor of the orchestra, and take place on Friday 29 May at 19:30 and Saturday 30 May at 17:00 in Eldborg.

The 2026 Artist-in-Residence is Hildur Guðnadóttir. Three events will showcase her and her music during the festival. On Thursday 4 June, she will lead a programme in Eldborg Hall with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, where she will discuss her works and artistic influences. Music from the films Joker, Tár, and Haunting in Venice will be performed, alongside works by composers such as Arvo Pärt, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Kaija Saariaho. The concert is a collaboration between Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the festival, conducted by Daníel Bjarnason.

On Saturday 6 June at 20:00, a concert will take place in Harpa’s Silfurberg, where Hildur and her ensemble perform Where to From for the first time in Iceland, along with Hildurs earlier works. She says of the piece:

“I have a fairly constant stream of music in my head. Sometimes I record this stream, and it becomes a kind of snapshot of my emotions at that moment. Where to From is my audio diary. I’m excited to open it up to the audience at Harpa, together with good friends.”

Where to From was commissioned by Reykjavík Arts Festival, Barbican Centre, Vienna Konzerthaus and Holland Festival. In addition to Hildur, who sings and plays cello, the performance features Liam Byrne on viola da gamba, vocalists Jessika Kenney and Else Torp, violist Eyvind Kang, and cellist Claire O’Connell. Lighting design is by Theresa Baumgartner and sound design by Francesco Donadello.

On Sunday 7 June at 17:00, we turn our gaze to the past, present and future, exploring connections in collaboration with Hallgrímskirkja in a concert where there will be performed works by Hildur and Jón Nordal. Among the performers are The Hallgrímskirkja Choir, conducted by Steinar Logi Helgason, Björn Steinar Sólbergsson og Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir.

“Gratitude is at the forefront of my mind when it comes to being the Artist-in-Residence of the Reykjavík Arts Festival. It’s a great honour to come home and share with the nation a glimpse of what I’ve been working on over the past decades. I’m looking forward to collaborating with Iceland Symphony Orchestra and Hallgrímskirkja Choir, and to perform new music with close friends — music that we’ll be bringing to audiences around the world in the coming years,” said Hildur.

Tickets for the concerts with Hildur and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra go on sale on June 11.

Tickets for Where to From and for the Hallgrímskirkja Choir concert will be available in the autumn