Vikingur Ólaffson
Works by Bach, Beethoven, Schubert

The Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson is an undisputed phenomenon of rare stature. Now in his early forties, his interpretations have lost none of their youthful ardour, trailblazing spirit, or profound spirituality – qualities that have defined him since he burst onto the international music stage some fifteen to twenty years ago. Among the most celebrated artists of his generation – and long an exclusive recording artist with Deutsche Grammophon – Ólafsson remains, above all, an uncompromising visionary. His artistic choices are marked by originality and by a subversive, luminous gaze that reimagines even the most familiar cornerstones of the piano repertoire.

His recordings have achieved worldwide resonance, amassing over a billion streams and earning numerous distinctions, including the recent GRAMMY Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo (for Bach's Goldberg Variations, 2025), the BBC Music Magazine’s Recording of the Year Award, and – twice – the Opus Klassik Award for Solo Recording of the Year.

In his eagerly awaited Greek debut, Ólafsson presents a programme of works by Bach, Beethoven, and Schubert, conceived under the title Opus 109, mirroring his latest recording released in November 2025. The title, of course, alludes to Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, which the artist places alongside – and perhaps even in dialogue with – other works by Beethoven and Schubert, while never neglecting his beloved Bach. As the pianist himself suggests, these two grand nineteenth-century composers confront the eighteenth-century giant “as every composer ought to do.” The unifying thread of the programme is the tonality of E, both minor and major. Within this tonal landscape, Ólafsson harnesses the condition of synaesthesia as a generative force, evoking a vast array of green’s rich and vivid shades.

Above all, it is a programme that reveals the essence of Ólafsson’s artistic thinking. One need only turn to the past, he argues, to recognise what is often missing from today’s concert formats, which can leave the listener with the sensation of “leafing through a library catalogue.” Nineteenth-century recital programmes, by contrast, offer a sense of genuine liberation, as they are arresting, brimming with improvisatory vigour, and full of the unexpected. It is precisely this modern outlook on historical touchstones that establishes Víkingur Ólafsson as one of the defining artists of the twenty-first century.