Víkingur Ólafsson

Pianist

Víkingur Ólafsson is one of the most celebrated classical artists of our time, a unique and visionary musician who brings his profound originality to some of the greatest works in music history.

His recordings resonate deeply with audiences around the world, reaching over 1 billion streams and winning numerous awards including the 2025 Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for his album of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, BBC Music Magazine Album of the Year, and Opus Klassik Solo Recording of the Year (twice). Other notable honors include the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal, Rolf Schock Music Prize, Gramophone’s Artist of the Year, Musical America’s Instrumentalist of the Year, the Nordic Council Music Prize, and Order of the Falcon (Iceland’s order of chivalry), as well as the Icelandic Export Award, given by the president of Iceland.

November 2025 saw Ólafsson present his latest album, Opus 109, which places Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 30, Op. 109, at its heart. In an illuminating and thrilling musical dialogue with Schubert, J.S. Bach, and other works by Beethoven, it traces the lineages that converge on this masterpiece of the piano literature. He tours the anticipated new program widely, bringing it to the greatest concert halls across Europe and North America.

Ólafsson opened the 2025/26 season and toured the US with the Philharmonia Orchestra as Featured Artist, and he returns to the Berlin Philharmonic with Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic with Antonio Pappano. He reunited with John Adams and the Los Angeles Philharmonic for performances of After the Fall, a concerto written expressly for him. Ólafsson marks the György Kurtág centenary celebrations in 2026 and appears as artist in residence at Cal Performances in Berkeley and at Müpa, Budapest.