Across The Face Of The Sun

Concert at the House of Collections
Laufey Sigurðardóttir, violin, and Elísabet Waage, harp

Free admission.

About the programme

The title of this violin and harp concert at the House of Collections is taken from a composition by Danish composer Hans-Henrik Nordström. He wrote the piece for violinist Laufey Sigurðardóttir and harpist Elísabet Waage, who gave its world premiere in Copenhagen in November 2025. The composer drew inspiration from the 2004 transit of Venus, when the planet Venus passed across the face of the Sun.

The concert opens with the duo performing Jórunn Viðar’s Scenes from Icelandic Life – Icelandic Suite, composed in 1974, the year Iceland celebrated the 1,100th anniversary of its settlement. In the work, Jórunn makes masterful use of Iceland’s folk-music heritage. It was originally composed for violin and piano, but the composer gave her blessing to the version for harp and expressed her delight with the arrangement.

The concert concludes with Expressions by Kolbeinn Bjarnason, written for Laufey and Elísabet. The work translates the expressions depicted in French Baroque drawings into music, with Kolbeinn employing both traditional and highly innovative playing techniques to evoke their different characters.

Programme

Jórunn Viðar (1918–2017): Scenes from Icelandic Life – Icelandic Suite (1974)
Hans-Henrik Nordström (b. 1947): Across the Face of the Sun (Foran solen) (2025)
Kolbeinn Bjarnason (b. 1957): Expressions (2023)

The performers

Laufey Sigurðardóttir was born and raised in Reykjavík. She completed her soloist diploma at the Reykjavík College of Music and pursued further studies in the United States with Professor Neikrug and in Italy. Laufey was a permanent member of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra while also performing extensively as a soloist and chamber musician. Since 1997, she has organised the Music in Mývatn festival, held annually over Easter. She has also organised Mozart concerts for the City of Reykjavík to mark the composer’s birthday.

Elísabet Waage studied piano and harp at the Reykjavík College of Music. She received soloist and teaching diplomas in harp from the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, the Netherlands, where she studied with Edward Witsenburg. Chamber music forms a major part of her work, particularly duo performances and collaborations with ensembles such as Caput. Elísabet teaches harp at Kópavogur Music School and has also performed with various symphony orchestras and as a soloist.

Laufey and Elísabet have been making music together for three decades. They have performed extensively throughout Iceland as well as in the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Italy. Icelandic composers have written and dedicated works to the duo. Their CD Serena was released in late 2008. In September 2025, they released the digital album Ómskoðun andartaksins, featuring works by four Icelandic composers, all written specifically for the duo.