Pianist

Víkingur Ólafsson performs the 75,000+ notes of Bach’s Goldberg Variations with “a complete show of mastery and virtuosity” (Bachtrack).

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Víkingur Ólafsson 2024

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson has made a profound impact with his remarkable combination of highest level musicianship and visionary programmes. His recordings for Deutsche Grammophon - Philip Glass Piano Works (2017), Johann Sebastian Bach (2018), Debussy Rameau (2020) and Mozart & Contemporaries (2021) - captured the public and critical imagination and led to album streams of over 260 million. The New York Times dubbed him “Iceland’s Glenn Gould.”

Víkingur Ólafsson on Bach's Goldberg Variations

Segerstrom Center for the Arts

Víkingur Ólafsson Plays Bach's Goldberg Variations

Dubbed “the new superstar of classical piano” (The Daily Telegraph), Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson makes his Orange County recital debut.

Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson has made a profound impact with his remarkable combination of highest level musicianship and visionary programmes. His recordings for Deutsche Grammophon - Philip Glass Piano Works (2017), Johann Sebastian Bach (2018), Debussy Rameau (2020) and Mozart & Contemporaries (2021) - captured the public and critical imagination and led to album streams of over 260 million. The New York Times dubbed him “Iceland’s Glenn Gould.”

Vikingur Olafsson, piano

Critics can’t help but draw parallels between pianist Víkingur Ólafsson’s pristine, crystalline touch at the keyboard and the bracing landscapes of his native Iceland: light reflected on snow, mountainous vistas, sparkling Nordic waterfalls. Ólafsson’s recordings have been wildly popular internationally, winning both Album of the Year at the BBC Music Magazine Awards and Gramophone’s Artist of the Year in 2019, and more recent local performances have both impressed and delighted audiences here in the Bay Area. Known for both his imaginative interpretations and his engaging onstage banter, Ólafsson plays the complete set of Bach’s Goldberg Variations—his renditions praised by Bachtrack as “a complete show of mastery and virtuosity”—in his Cal Performances debut.

Víkingur Ólafsson, piano

University of California, Berkeley

Les Violons du Roy has been a focal point of Québec City’s musical life since it was founded by Bernard Labadie in 1984. The ensemble takes its name from the celebrated court orchestra of the French kings. Under music director Jonathan Cohen, this orchestra soars to truly regal heights. With classical guitarist Miloš, Les Violons du Roy explores an expansive chamber orchestra repertoire with a skillful faithfulness to the period of each work.

Les Violons du Roy

Stanford University

Franz Welser-Möst returns to Blossom with Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, which journeys from dark inner turmoil to an unwavering celebration of life. The “breathtakingly brilliant pianist” Víkingur Ólafsson (Gramophone) also joins the Orchestra for Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto, a marvelous showcase for soloist and orchestra that the composer once referred to as “a compromise between a symphony, a concerto, and a huge sonata.”

Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony

Blossom Music Center

Severance Music Center is Cleveland’s home for symphonic music and other presentations, including Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Concert Hall and Reinberger Chamber Hall. We are strongly committed to making everyone feel welcome. The doors to Severance open three hours prior to most performances.

Ólafsson and Wang in Recital

Severance Music Center

Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson has won legions of fans for his thoughtfully constructed, sublimely played recordings and videos. They have drawn accolades including Gramophone’s Artist of the Year and BBC Music Magazine’s Album of the Year in 2019. Ólafsson takes listeners through Beethoven’s final three piano sonatas, comprising one of music’s great spiritual journeys.

Víkingur Ólafsson

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Join Icelandic sensation Víkingur Ólafsson as he brings his unique touch to Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto, an impassioned blend of heartfelt melodies and dramatic flair. Along with Brahms’s Fourth Symphony, our Masterworks Series finale offers a profound exploration of one of history’s greatest composers, revealing the timeless beauty and brilliance of his music.

Víkingur Ólafsson

Pianist

Events

May 1, 2024

Víkingur Ólafsson 2024 · Los Angeles Philharmonic

May 2, 2024

Víkingur Ólafsson on Bach's Goldberg Variations · Philharmonic Society of Orange County

May 2, 2024

Víkingur Ólafsson Plays Bach's Goldberg Variations · Philharmonic Society of Orange County

May 2, 2024

Vikingur Olafsson, piano · Segerstrom Center For The Arts

May 4, 2024

Víkingur Ólafsson, piano · Cal Performances

About

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