JAMES STRECKER: Please tell us what you want the public to know about your work in the arts. For instance, how do you yourself describe it as a significant experience in your life and why exactly do you labour to make it exist?
SAEUNN THORSTEINSDÓTTIR: I play the cello and my work is mostly engaged with interpreting and performing classical music for a variety of audiences. Ever since I was young, I couldn’t think of spending my time doing anything else, and my thirst for exploration and communication through music has only grown stronger and more urgent. I don’t play in an orchestra, so my work is mostly project based and I play in a variety of solo and chamber music settings and there is always something upcoming to sink my teeth into.
JS: What exactly do you like about the work you create, as originator or as interpreter, or as both if such is the case?
ST: As an interpreter and performer of music, I like diving underneath the surface to try to understand and express the humanness in the notes on the page. And when I get to do that with others, such as in chamber music, even better!
JS: Please give us a brief autobiography, some stuff about yourself that is relevant to the essence of your work in the arts.
ST: I am a professional cellist, so my career includes performing, recording and most recently, I have also started teaching. I was born in Reykjavík, Iceland but have spent most of my life in the US and I take some of that perspective with me in my music-making. One of my main passions is in collaboration, whether in a chamber music setting performing a masterpiece of the repertoire, or with a composer on a new piece.
JS: In what ways is your creative work fairly easy to do and in what ways is it difficult to realize? Why is it so?
ST: Playing the notes is the easy part, but communicating the essence of the music is sometimes difficult. It takes courage, vulnerability, a deep conviction, intuition, and understanding to go beyond the notes on the page and to bare your heart on stage for a group of strangers, especially if you have traveled a long way, are jet lagged and your contact lenses are drying out.
JS: How does doing the kind of work you do in the arts change you as a person – and as a creator?
ST: The music that I have dedicated my life to has definitely changed me. The technical demands of the instrument have made me humble, the music itself has given me insights into the emotional landscapes of brilliant composers which has made me more empathetic as a person, and the relationships that I’ve built with my colleagues has taught me how to trust as we play this incredible music together.
JS: What kind of audience does your work in the arts interest? What new audience are you also seeking? Why to both questions?
ST: I find that music interests most people, but especially those who are curious. Often when I’m playing new music, audiences tell me that they’ve never heard anything like that, or that they didn’t know the cello could sound like that. There might be an assumption that classical music is elevator music or aural wallpaper, but for me, there is always more to discover in a good piece of music. I think the best way to be open to that exploration is by going to a concert in a good acoustic and dedicating your attention to listening to discover something new. This kind of listening from an audience is so gratifying for us performers, because we feel that kind of attention on stage and it encourages us to be even more generous in our music making.
JS: What are the most important parts of yourself that you put into your work in the arts?
ST: There is no separation between me and my work, it is wholly integrated into who I am so it is very hard to separate. If I had to choose, I would say creativity, passion and a collaborative spirit are the most important and wouldn’t be able to play without those parts.
JS: What are your biggest challenges as a creative person in the arts?
ST: It is easy for me to forget to rest and recharge, and often there are more projects and exciting things that I want to do than there is time for, so scheduling and conserving my energy is always a challenge
JS: Please describe at least one major turning point in your life that brought you to this point as a creative person in the arts.
ST: I was lucky enough to go to an orchestra concert when I was probably 8 or 9 years old that had a deep impact. The soloist was the great cellist Zara Nelsova playing the Dvorak Concerto, and I remember being blown away by her sound which filled the hall and gripped everyone’s attention. She was not only a wonderful musician, but also a generous teacher, and I had the privilege of playing in a masterclass for her, which had a huge impact on me and I think from that point, I knew playing the cello was what I wanted to dedicate my life to.
JS: What are the hardest things for an outsider to understand about your life as a person in the arts?
ST: Perhaps because it is so far from most people’s realities, I think the hardest part for an outsider to understand is that music is not just a job, it is a life. I don’t really have any “hours” that I work, because I am constantly marinating on a piece, or a phrase, or a fingering, and although I am trying to get better at taking real vacations, I miss the cello when I do.
JS: Please tell us what you haven’t attempted as yet that you would like to do in the arts.
ST: I would like to see if there is a way for improvisation to be integrated in a classical music setting. Currently I am workshopping a concerto in which the solo line is completely improvised, as well as parts of the orchestra, and I think it could be interesting.
JS: If you could re-live your life in the arts, how would you change it and why?
ST: I think I would be more open and tell more people about my passions and ideas. I think finding others who have similar ideas, or complementary passions is such an integral part of a fulfilling life, and if I had been more confident in sharing mine earlier on, I think it may have been easier to find collaborators.
JS: Let’s talk about the state of the arts in today’s culture, including the forms in which you work. What specifically gives you hope and what specifically do you find depressing?
ST: I have a lot of hope for live music, especially on a smaller scale. I see people wanting a unique, meaningful musical experience and I believe that music can thrive when it is serving a community. What I find depressing is when organizations hold onto traditions or norms that no longer serve the music or the community and don’t even realize it.
JS: What exactly has the impact of the COVID pandemic been on your creative work and your life in the arts?
ST: The abrupt halt to live concerts had a huge impact on me, as I had more time to devote to a passion project, which was the performing of all 6 Bach Suites, and subsequently recording them. It gave me the time and space to explore them in a way that I don’t think I would have had the chance to if I was traveling and playing other repertoire as well.
JS: How has the pandemic changed you as a person?
ST: The pandemic gave me a chance to reflect a bit which gave me a lot of insights into what was working in my daily life, and what wasn’t and make some adjustments. It also gave me a few grey hairs too!
JS: What’s next in the coming few years of your life in the arts?
ST: Along with various projects and performances, I will be Artist-in-Residence with the Iceland Symphony next season, so I will be going home a few times over the next year, as well as releasing my recording of the Bach Suites in early 2023. I am also starting to teach at the Cincinnati College Conservatory in the fall, so I look forward to moving to Cincinnati in the next few weeks!