Víkingur Ólafsson

The Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson was born in Reykjavik in 1984 and trained at Juilliard. A specialist in contemporary music, he has premiered numerous concertos by Icelandic composers including Haukur Tómasson and Daniel Bjarnason as well as music by Mark-Anthony Turnage and Mark Simpson. Ólafsson signed with Deutsche Grammophon in 2016, and his debut album on the label (a Philip Glass recital, marking the composer’s 80th birthday) was praised in Gramophone as ‘unique, distinct and extraordinary’ as well as being one of the New York Times’s Top Recordings of 2017; an all-Bach album followed the next year, and was described as ‘fresh, expressive and joyous’ by the Sunday Times.

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Further Reading: Víkingur Ólafsson

Víkingur Ólafsson shares a new perspective on Op. 109

21st Nov 2025by Matthew Ash
Víkingur Ólafsson’s new album is built around Beethoven’s Op. 109 piano sonata, with the much-loved Icelandic pianist bringing fresh perspective to a cornerstone of the repertoire, elucidating connections with the music of Bach and Schubert, and reinforcing the fact that the composer was more than the romanticised revolutionary of popular legend.

Classical Recording of the Week
A slow-brewed Goldberg Variations from Víkingur Ólafsson

6th Oct 2023by David Smith
The Icelandic pianist presents the results of twenty-five years of thoughtful preparation, in a recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations that combines control and spontaneity, limpid gentleness and furious virtuosic energy.

Classical Recording of the Week

Browse all further reading about Víkingur Ólafsson

Browse: Víkingur Ólafsson

Further Reading: Víkingur Ólafsson

Víkingur Ólafsson shares a new perspective on Op. 109

A slow-brewed Goldberg Variations from Víkingur Ólafsson

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