Víkingur Ólafsson

An Icelandic pianist born in Reykjavik on February 14, 1984, Víkingur Ólafsson took his first lessons with his mother, who taught the instrument at the local conservatory. His early technical mastery enabled him to continue his studies at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York, under the tutelage of Jerome Lowenthal and Robert McDonald, and to specialize in the contemporary repertoire, particularly that of Icelandic composers. In 2009, his first Debut recording included pieces by Brahms and Beethoven's Eroica Variations. Two years later, he combined Chopin's Preludes with Bach's Partitas in a new program, followed by Schubert's Winterreise lieder cycle with Icelandic bass Kristin Sigmundsson, which won him a prize at the Iceland Music Awards. His international career takes off after hosting a program on Icelandic television(Out of Tune, 2013-2014). He takes part in several festivals and collaborates with Philip Glass. In 2016, he signed a new contract with the Deutsche Grammophon label, inaugurated by the critically acclaimed album Philip Glass: Piano Works (2017). His first film score for Darkest Hour (2018) is followed by programs dedicated to J. S. Bach, through the Johann Sebastian Bach recital and the free interpretations of Works & Reworks (2019). His inclinations for the Baroque and neoclassical repertoires are brought together in the Rameau - Debussy recital published in 2020, followed by Mozart & His Contemporaries (2021) and From Afar (2022), which confronts classical pieces with contemporary compositions by Kurtág. In 2023, he returns to Bach for his vision of the Goldberg Variations, followed by the EP Continuum (2024), based on a selection of cantatas.

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