Víkingur Ólafsson, piano

Step into a world of musical discovery with Víkingur Ólafsson, the acclaimed Icelandic pianist whose rare blend of technical mastery and poetic sensitivity has captivated audiences around the globe. Hailed for his visionary artistry, Ólafsson has amassed over one billion streams and earned some of the highest accolades in classical music, including the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for his Goldberg Variations, BBC Music Magazine’s Album of the Year, and two Opus Klassik Awards for Solo Recording of the Year. He has also been named Gramophone’s Artist of the Year, Musical America’s Instrumentalist of the Year, and received the prestigious Icelandic Export Award, presented by the President of Iceland. Ólafsson’s Caramoor recital is an exploration of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in E major, Op. 109, which he contextualizes with the same composer’s E minor sonata, Op. 90, and works in both keys by Bach and Schubert.

Special thanks to Armando Gutierrez and Jack Johnson for their support of this concert.

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I: Prelude in E Major, BWV 854 
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata No. 27 in E Minor, Op. 90 
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Partita No. 6 in E Minor, BWV 830 
FRANZ SCHUBERT:  Moderato and Allegro from Piano Sonata in E Minor, D. 566 
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109 

Read the Full Program Notes