Helga Ingólfsdóttur (1942-2009) harpsichord player was the founder of The Skálholt Summer Concerts. Helga made a great impact in the Icelandic musical scene for her interpretation of both old and new music. She graduated with a soloist degree from The Reykjavik Conservatory in 1963 where Rögnvaldur Sigurjónsson was her mentor, but then left to Germany for further studies, at first on the piano but then she turned to the harpsichord and graduated as a harpsichord player from the University of Music in Munich in spring 1968. She was a pupil of the harpsichord and organ player Hedwig Bilgram.
Helga returned to Iceland in 1971 and her arrival was to change dramatically baroque music in Iceland. In her field she was a revolutionary. She wanted baroque music to sound as much as possible the way the composers would have heard it, something we think obvious today, but was only a dream fifty years ago.
Having the right instruments is of course of importance, but not less the way musicians shape their interpretation. Due to her knowledge, intuition and personal style Helga became a leader in the field.
She was an artistic director of the Skálholt Summer Concerts from 1975 to 2004. In 1986 she founded the Skálholt Bach Consort, which was the first baroque orchestra in Iceland. Helga was also very interested in new music and premiered many Icelandic pieces. She did some performances abroad as a soloist or with others, most often with the flutist Manuela Wiesler.
Helga felt best at home doing her art in Skálholt. She released many LPs and CDs, such as music by Bach (1984), The Goldberg Variations by Bach (2000), From Home Shore to Distant Shore (2005) where she plays baroque music and some of the music that had been composed and dedicated to her.
Helga returned to Iceland in 1971 and her arrival was to change dramatically baroque music in Iceland. In her field she was a revolutionary. She wanted baroque music to sound as much as possible the way the composers would have heard it, something we think obvious today, but was only a dream fifty years ago.
Having the right instruments is of course of importance, but not less the way musicians shape their interpretation. Due to her knowledge, intuition and personal style Helga became a leader in the field.
She was an artistic director of the Skálholt Summer Concerts from 1975 to 2004. In 1986 she founded the Skálholt Bach Consort, which was the first baroque orchestra in Iceland. Helga was also very interested in new music and premiered many Icelandic pieces. She did some performances abroad as a soloist or with others, most often with the flutist Manuela Wiesler.
Helga felt best at home doing her art in Skálholt. She released many LPs and CDs, such as music by Bach (1984), The Goldberg Variations by Bach (2000), From Home Shore to Distant Shore (2005) where she plays baroque music and some of the music that had been composed and dedicated to her.
