Musician Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson, the principal flute of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, is taking a one-year leave of absence from the orchestra after winning the same post at the Berlin Philharmonic.
Höskuldsson was hired to his post by then-music director Riccardo Muti in 2015 and began playing with the orchestra the following year. His departure was confirmed by the CSO on Thursday.
“Stefan has requested a leave of absence so that he can play with the Berlin Philharmonic next season,” CSOA president Jeff Alexander said in an emailed statement to the Tribune.
Originally from Iceland, Höskuldsson was principal flute of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra prior to joining the CSO. During his tenure with the orchestra, he performed solo with the orchestra on three occasions, most recently in the premiere of Lowell Liebermann’s Flute Concerto No. 2 last year, and was a regular performer in its MusicNOW series. Writing about Höskuldsson’s solo debut with the orchestra, former Tribune critic Howard Reich praised Höskuldsson for “the fastidiousness of his melodic ornaments, the relatively chaste quality of his vibrato and the crystalline articulation of his every note.”
Principal musicians hold crucial leadership roles in symphony orchestras: they take important orchestral solos, are tasked with leading their respective sections and are the highest-compensated members of the ensemble. (Höskuldsson had a notable solo in last season’s Liebermann Flute Concerto No. 2.)
At the same time, jobs in the Berlin Philharmonic are considered the most coveted in the orchestra world. Höskuldsson’s predecessor Mathieu Dufour left Chicago for the same position in 2014. (He left the Philharmonic in 2021.)
Höskuldsson will still hold his CSO position, the orchestra said, while he plays a trial year in Berlin. Occasionally, albeit rarely, departing musicians return to their old orchestras. CSO principal trumpet Esteban Batallán returns to his post in the fall after a season away playing principal with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Höskuldsson’s departure leaves the CSO flute section essentially leaderless, since the section’s assistant principal position is also currently vacant. In addition to seeking two new flutes, the orchestra is seeking a principal trombone, principal harp, second oboe, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, assistant principal viola and various section strings.
Hannah Edgar is a freelance critic.
