Víkingur Ólafsson
Language available : englishIcelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson began making his mark on the wider classical music world in the mid-2010s, after winning several major arts prizes in his homeland. Ólafsson began his studies at home in Iceland, then earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Juilliard, where his primary teachers were Jerome Lowenthal and Robert McDonald. By 2017, he had premiered five piano concertos, working directly with composers such as Philip Glass, Daníel Bjarnason, and Haukur Tómasson, whose concerto he premiered during the 2016-2017 season. He has also collaborated on projects with visual artists such as Roman Signer and Lillevän, and musicians like Sayaka Shoji, Pekka Kuusisto, and Björk. Ólafsson's recital programs are thoughtfully assembled, linking music by theme, historical context, tonality, or a combination of elements. That kind of care and insight led him to host a TV series about classical music for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service entitled Útúrdúr ("Out-of-tune," 2013-2014), and to him being named artistic director of Iceland's Vinterfest, taking over in 2016 from the music festival's founding director, Martin Fröst. Ólafsson is also founder and artistic director of the Reykjavík Midsummer Music festival. Having by then released three albums on his own, including Schubert's Winterreise with bass Kristinn Sigmundsson, he signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon in November 2016. His first release on the label, Philip Glass: Piano Works, appeared in January 2017. Later that same year, Ólafsson was the featured pianist on Dario Marianelli's score for the Academy Award-nominated film Darkest Hour, about Winston Churchill. In 2018, he released the critically acclaimed album Johann Sebastian Bach, which yielded the artist a slew of awards including Gramophone's Artist of the Year. He released the companion piece J.S. Bach: Works & Reworks in 2019.
© Patsy Morita /TiVo Read more
Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson began making his mark on the wider classical music world in the mid-2010s, after winning several major arts prizes in his homeland.
Ólafsson began his studies at home in Iceland, then earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Juilliard, where his primary teachers were Jerome Lowenthal and Robert McDonald. By 2017, he had premiered five piano concertos, working directly with composers such as Philip Glass, Daníel Bjarnason, and Haukur Tómasson, whose concerto he premiered during the 2016-2017 season. He has also collaborated on projects with visual artists such as Roman Signer and Lillevän, and musicians like Sayaka Shoji, Pekka Kuusisto, and Björk.
Ólafsson's recital programs are thoughtfully assembled, linking music by theme, historical context, tonality, or a combination of elements. That kind of care and insight led him to host a TV series about classical music for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service entitled Útúrdúr ("Out-of-tune," 2013-2014), and to him being named artistic director of Iceland's Vinterfest, taking over in 2016 from the music festival's founding director, Martin Fröst. Ólafsson is also founder and artistic director of the Reykjavík Midsummer Music festival.
Having by then released three albums on his own, including Schubert's Winterreise with bass Kristinn Sigmundsson, he signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon in November 2016. His first release on the label, Philip Glass: Piano Works, appeared in January 2017. Later that same year, Ólafsson was the featured pianist on Dario Marianelli's score for the Academy Award-nominated film Darkest Hour, about Winston Churchill. In 2018, he released the critically acclaimed album Johann Sebastian Bach, which yielded the artist a slew of awards including Gramophone's Artist of the Year. He released the companion piece J.S. Bach: Works & Reworks in 2019.
© Patsy Morita /TiVo
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Philip Glass: Piano Works
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 27 jan. 2017
Gramophone Editor's ChoiceThe piano etudes of Philip Glass were, like 19th century examples of the form, technical studies. Glass, in fact, wrote them over two decades as a way ...
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Johann Sebastian Bach
Víkingur Ólafsson
Piano solo - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 7 sep. 2018
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart & Contemporaries
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 3 sep. 2021
Between tradition and modernity - Víkingur Ólafsson's repertoire is extremely extensive and spans several centuries. In his previous recordings, conte ...
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy – Rameau
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 27 mrt. 2020
5 étoiles de ClassicaDiapason d'orWas Rameau the quintessentially French composer? Debussy certainly thought so, and penned an Hommage à Rameau in Book 1 of the Images for piano, heard ...
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Reflections
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 12 mrt. 2021
This album is something of an offshoot of pianist Vikingur Ólafsson's album Debussy/Rameau, which offered a deep and well-received dive into the relat ...
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach Reworks (Pt. 1)
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 5 okt. 2018
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach Reworks (Part 2) (Pt. 2)
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 26 apr. 2019
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vikingur Olafsson: Chopin - Bach
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Dirrindi on 4 mei 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy – Rameau
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 27 mrt. 2020
Was Rameau the quintessentially French composer? Debussy certainly thought so, and penned an Hommage à Rameau in Book 1 of the Images for piano, heard ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debut
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Hands On Music on 17 mei 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reflections Pt. 1 / Debussy: Bruyères
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 20 nov. 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Reflections Pt. 4 / Debussy: Pour le piano
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 12 mrt. 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Reflections Pt. 2 / Debussy: Canope
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 15 jan. 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Johann Sebastian Bach
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 7 sep. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reflections Pt. 3 / RWKS
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 19 feb. 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Reflections
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 12 mrt. 2021
This album is something of an offshoot of pianist Vikingur Ólafsson's album Debussy/Rameau, which offered a deep and well-received dive into the relat ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Philip Glass: Piano Works
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 27 jan. 2017
The piano etudes of Philip Glass were, like 19th century examples of the form, technical studies. Glass, in fact, wrote them over two decades as a way ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
For Jóhann
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 6 sep. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach: Prelude & Fugue, BWV 855a, 1. Prelude No. 10 in B Minor (Transcr. by Alexander Siloti)
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 24 aug. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sleep for Mama (Icelandic Folk Song)
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 15 okt. 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
La damoiselle élue (Hania Rani Rework (After Claude Debussy))
Víkingur Ólafsson
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 25 sep. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo