Reykjavik Arts Festival (redirected from Listah‡t' ' Reykjav'k)

Reykjavik Arts Festival (Listah‡t’ ’ Reykjav’k)

Late May to early June in even-numbered years

Originally called the North Atlantic Festival, this nearly three-week-long festival highlights the performing and visual arts. Vladimir Ashkenazy, the famous pianist and an Icelandic citizen, founded the festival with Ivar Eskeland, former director of the Nordic House in Reykjavik. While Eskeland was primarily interested in establishing a Nordic arts festival, Ashkenazy wanted it to be international in scope. The two men combined their goals, and the first festival was held in 1970.
Since that time the festival has seen performances by violinist Yehudi Menuhin, flutist James Galway, conductor AndrÉ Previn, bassist Boris Christoff, and the London Sinfonietta. Artists and companies from Austria, Denmark, Germany, France, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States have also performed there. The festival is well attended not only by local people but by tourists as well.

CONTACTS:
Reykjavik Arts Festival
Laekjargata 3b
P.O. Box 88
Reykjavik, 121 Iceland
354-561-2444; fax: 354-562-2350
artfest.is/default.asp?lang_id=en

SOURCES:
GdWrldFest-1985, p. 108
IntlThFolk-1979, p. 201