Today marks 100 years since the birth of Jørn Utzon, the Danish architect responsible for one of Australia’s most iconic landmarks, the Sydney Opera House. Utzon, who rose to fame after winning the 1957 international competition to design the Sydney Opera House, was born on April 9, 1918, and while he never saw his work on the Opera House complete (the controversy of his resignation after Minister of Works Davis Hughes ceased payments to the architect has been immortalised in The Eighth Wonder) and he was never commissioned by the Danish government, his legacy is being celebrated this year in both countries.

Jørn Utzon. Photo courtesy of the Sydney Opera House Trust

Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik kicks off the centenary celebrations today by opening the exhibition Horisont – an Opera House and a world of difference. The Sydney Symphony Orchestra will also visit Denmark as part of its European tour at the end of the year, performing at The House of Music in Aalborg, the town of Utzon’s birth. “The SSO is honoured to be performing the final concert of the tour at the Musikkens Hus (House of Music),...