Víkingur Ólafsson

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 one 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 honours include the Rolf Schock Music Prize, Gramophone’s Artist of the Year, the RPS Gold Medal, the Order of the Falcon (Iceland’s order of chivalry) and the Icelandic Export Award, given by the President of Iceland.

Ólafsson opens the 2026-27 season with a European tour with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Santtu-Matias Rouvali, three sold-out nights at London’s Wigmore Hall with his Opus 109 project – which he also tours across South Korea, China and Taiwan – and the release of his latest album on Deutsche Grammophon, Continuum II, of works by J.S. Bach. He also returns to the Berlin Philharmonic with Kirill Petrenko.

Complementing the album release in early 2027 of the same, After the Fall – the piano concerto written by John Adams expressly for Ólafsson – forms a central part of the season: he tours the work across Europe with London Symphony Orchestra and performs with New York Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Adams himself. Marking 10 years since the release of his first album on the Deutsche Grammophon label, Philip Glass: Piano Works, as well as celebrating the composer’s 90th birthday, in 2027 Ólafsson presents a new recital combining works by Glass, Debussy and Rameau. He tours the new programme widely, bringing it to the greatest concert halls across Europe, North America and Australia. May 2027 marks the second edition of Pulse, the festival created and curated by Ólafsson as part of the Lucerne Festival.