Education
BM Reykjavik School of Music
Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Performance Royal Northern College of Music
About
Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson is the principal flutist of the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra, as well as a distinguished international soloist and
chamber musician. He was appointed to the post in 2015 by Music Director
Riccardo Muti. Prior to joining the CSO, he served as principal flute of the
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra from 2008-2016. A native of Iceland, Stefán has
been praised by the New York Times for his agility and warmth of expression.
Mr. Höskuldsson has performed widely throughout the United
States, Europe, and Japan under the skilled direction of James Levine, Fabio
Luisi, Valery Gergiev, Daniel Barenboim, Seiji Ozawa, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and
Riccardo Muti. He regularly performs at Carnegie Hall with the Met Orchestra
and Chamber Ensemble and in 2009 he was featured as a soloist in Pierre Boulez’s
Mémoriale-Explosant Fixe. Stefán
has collaborated on performances and recordings with such artists as renowned
pianists Evgeni Kissin, Alfred Brendel and Yefim Brofman, violinist Gil Shaham,
and sopranos Diana Damrau and Anna Netrebko. As a member of the Metropolitan
Opera Orchestra, Mr. Hoskuldsson has received two Grammy Awards in the category
of best opera recording for Wagner´s Ring Cycle and Thomas Ades’ The Tempest.
In addition to his performances with the Met, Stefán has been
invited as guest principal flute with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Mostly
Mozart Festival and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. His extensive solo
performances include engagements with the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo,
recitals at the Sir James Galway International Flute Festival in Lucerne and a
live radio broadcast with BBC Radio 3 In Tune in London.
In 2011, Stefán performed the Mozart Flute and Harp Concerto with
members of the Met. Orchestra at the Parlance Chamber Concert series. Mr. Höskuldsson
also frequently appears as soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and in
2013 he performed the Carl Nielsen Flute Concerto under the baton of Vladimir
Ashkenazy. Previous performances with the orchestra include the Lowell
Liebermann Flute Concerto and the W.A. Mozart Flute Concerto in D major.
Stefán currently teaches at a private studio in New York City and
has been a faculty member with the Pacific Music Festival in Japan since 2010.
He has given master classes at The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music,
Mannes College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Royal
Academy of Music.
Mr. Höskuldsson attended the Reykjavik School of Music in Iceland
where he studied with Bernhard Wilkinson. Following his graduation, Stefán
attended the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, where he
studied with Peter Lloyd and Wissam Boustany.
Höskuldsson can be heard and seen on live HD broadcasts with the
Metropolitan Opera. He has recorded for Castle Classics and the Naxos
label-American Classics Series. In 2015 he released his debut solo album on the
Delos label.
Learn more on the Flute Studio Page