Víkingur Ólafsson

Víkingur Heiðar Ólafsson (born February 14, 1984 in Reykjavík , Iceland ) is an Icelandic pianist .

Act

Víkingur Ólafsson grew up in Reykjavík and began playing the piano at an early age under the guidance of his mother, a piano teacher. He studied at the Juilliard School in New York, where he received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Jerome Lowenthal and Robert McDonald . Víkingur also took lessons from Ann Schein.

Víkingur has performed with orchestras in Europe and America and has won numerous awards for his playing, including four performer of the year awards at the Icelandic Music Awards and the Icelandic Optimism Prize . In 2009 Víkingur was nominated for the Nordic Council Music Prize .

In 2011, Víkingur was a soloist at the opening concert of the Harpa Concert Hall in the capital Reykjavík and played Edvard Grieg's A minor piano concerto with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Vladimir Aschkenasi . Víkingur has an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon . Due to the quality of his interpretations of works by Johann Sebastian Bach , the New York Times referred to him as Iceland's Glenn Gould .

New music

Víkingur is committed to promoting contemporary music. He has premiered six piano concertos by Icelandic composers, including Snorri Sigfús Birgisson, Daníel Bjarnason, Haukur Tómasson, and Þórður Magnússon. Víkingur has also premiered solo and chamber works by Atli Ingólfsson, Mark Simpson and Mark-Anthony Turnage .

Víkingur appeared together with Philip Glass (in Reykjavík, Gothenburg and London) and Björk , the latter on the television program Átta raddir , produced by Jónas Sen for RÚV, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service .

Recordings

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Johann Sebastian Bach   DE 53 14.09.2018 (3 weeks) Debussy - Rameau   DE 11 04/03/2020 (6 weeks)   AT 63 04/10/2020 (1 week)   CH 31 04/05/2020 (2 weeks)

Own label "Dirrindí"

• 2009: Debut , Brahms ' 7 Fantasies Op. 116 and 16, waltzes and Beethoven's Eroica Variations
• 2011: Chopin Bach , Chopin's Preludes and two Bach partitas .
• 2012: Winterreise , Schubert's winter journey with the Icelandic bass Kristinn Sigmundsson (CD and DVD)

Deutsche Grammophon

• 2016: Philip Glass - Piano works
• 2018: Johann Sebastian Bach
• 2020: Debussy - Rameau

Web links

• Homepage of Víkingur Ólafsson at Deutsche Grammophon
• Recordings by Víkingur Ólafsson in the catalog of the German National Library
• Víkingur Ólafsson at SoundCloud

Individual evidence

1. ^ Víkingur Ólafsson - a true classical music entrepreneur . Retrieved November 16, 2016.
2. ^ Víkingur Ólafsson - piano . Retrieved November 16, 2016.
3. ↑ Bergþóra Jónsdóttir: "Tónlist skapar einingu" [Music Creates Unity " ] . Árvakur. Accessed November 16, 2016.
4. ^ Víkingur Ólafsson . Retrieved November 18, 2016.
5. ↑ Icelandic Music Awards - Previous winners (2006, 2011, 2012, 2014) . ÍSTÓN. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
6. ↑ Víkingur Heiðar hlaut bjartsýnisverðlaunin [Víkingur Heiðar Awarded the Prize Optimism ] . Árvakur. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
7. ^ Nominations for the Nordic Council's Music Prize 2009 . Nordic Council. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
8. ↑ Jónas Sen: Gagnrýni: Fagurt er í Hörpu . 365 miðlar. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
9. ↑ Víkingur Ólafsson biography . Retrieved July 29, 2018.
10. ↑ Anthony Tommasini: Bleak, Gentle and Sweet: This Week's 8 Best Classical Music Moments on YouTube. In: The New York Times. August 18, 2017, accessed July 31, 2018 . 
11. ^ CAPUT New Music Ensemble . Retrieved November 15, 2016.
12. ^ Daníel Bjarnason: Processions . Retrieved November 15, 2016.
13. ^ Haukur Tómasson: Everything Has Changed. Nothing Has Changed. . Retrieved November 15, 2016.
14. ↑ Iceland's star pianist, Víkingur Heiðar Ólafsson in concert tonight . Morgunblaðið. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
15. ^ Steve Smith: In Iceland, a Festival of Present and Future . The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
16. ^ Simpson, Mark: Echoes and Embers (2012) .
17. ^ Turnage, Mark-Anthony: Cradle Song (2008) . Retrieved November 16, 2016.
18. ↑ John Rogers: Harpa Hypnotized by Philip Glass . Retrieved November 16, 2016.
19. ↑ Video: Oceania from Átta Raddir (02.27.2009). Björk, Jónas Sen, Víkingur Ólafsson. . Retrieved January 11, 2020.
20. ↑ Chart sources: DE AT CH

Note: Icelanders are referred to by their first name or first and last name, but not just their surname. Further information can be found under Icelandic personal name .