19 October 1986. Aspirations for building a concert hall in Iceland persisted through the 1990s. Several politicians declared themselves able and willing to make the dream come true, but without any tangible result. In 2000, the current location of Harpa was chosen as a building site. In May 2003, Vladimir Ashkenazy heavily criticized the tardiness of Icelandic politicians on a meeting with the ISO and declared that he would "probably find it difficult to travel from the cemetery to conduct the orchestra". That same year, the company Austurhöfn-TR was specifically founded to supervise the construction of the concert hall. In 2005, Portus Group, owned by Landsbanki Íslands, signed a contract to build and operate the concert hall. During this time, the idea had been expanded and modified with the intention of making the building multipurpose – a concert and conference complex. Construction of the building began on 12 January 2007. During the financial crisis of 2007-2008, construction work came to a halt, but was started anew in March 2009. Harpa Concert Hall was formally opened 4 May 2011 with an inaugural concert of Iceland Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Ashkenazy. Notable performances Collaboration with popular musicians On 19 November 1978, the ISO teamed up with pop musician Gunnar Þórðarson, former frontman and main songwriter of Thor's Hammer. The concert marks the beginning of ISO's association with the popular music industry. In 1986, an album entitled Í takt við tímann ("In keeping with the times") where the ISO performed a selection of Icelandic pop classics. Since 2002, ISO has regularly performed with pop musicians in concert, often recording and publishing the results on CD. The following list demonstrates the main bands and artists who have been associated with the ISO in concert: 2001: Quarashi 2002: Sálin 2003: Todmobile 2004: Nýdönsk 2006: Björgvin Halldórsson 2007: Dúndurfréttir 2008: Lady and Bird 2009: Gunnar Þórðarson 2010: Hjaltalín 2010 and 2011: Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson 2011 and 2012: Sigurður Guðmundsson and Sigríður Thorlacius 2013: Skálmöld (Skálmöld & Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands), Ólafur Arnalds 2015: Eivør Pálsdóttir 2016: Emiliana Torrini, John Grant (musician) 2018: Skálmöld References External links ISO official website ISO English-language history ClassicsToday.com digest page of links to reviews of Petri Sakari recordings Encyclopedia.com entry on Karsten Andersen Hilary Finch, "Symphonic Seismology". Nordic Sounds, April 2000 Raymond Tuttle, Review of Naxos 8.554265. Classical.net, 1999 Musical groups established in 1950 European orchestras Musical groups from Reykjavík 1950 establishments in