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Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson made his considerable mark on the world of classical music by performing new piano concertos by the likes of Philip Glass, Daníel Bjarnason and Haukur Tómasson. He extended his international reputation further with a varied range of collaborations with Sayaka Shoji, Pekka Kuusisto and Björk, as well as visual artists Roman Signer and Lillevän. Born in Reykjavik, Iceland on February 14, 1984, he was taught to play at a young age by his mother - a music teacher - and went on earn a master's degree at New York's famous Juilliard School under the tutelage of Jerome Lowenthal and Robert McDonald. Víkingur Ólafsson went on to win several prestigious awards in Iceland and formed his own record label to release his first album, Debut, in 2009. The album featured works composed by Brahms and Beethoven. He followed that album with Chopin-Bach (2011) and Schubert's Winterreise (2012), which was named Classical Album of the Year in that year's Icelandic Music Awards. In 2016, he was signed to an exclusive recording contract by Deutsche Grammophon and released the album Philip Glass: Piano Works featuring the American composer's piano etudes written over two decades. He went on to premiere piano concertos by Icelandic composers including Haukur Tómasson, Snorri Sigfús Birgisson, and Daniel Bjarnason. Víkingur Ólafsson’s thoughtfully assembled recitals following different themes and his attention to detail made him a popular live attraction all over the world. He has also presented two Icelandic TV series about classical music and in 2016 he took over as artistic director of Iceland's Vinterfest and became founder and artistic director of the Reykjavik Midsummer Music Festival. In 2018, he released Johan Sebastian Bach, a collection of Bach’s works for solo keyboard. The release won numerous awards including BBC Music Magazine’s Recording of the Year and Instrumental Album of the Year. Víkingur Ólafsson followed that album with Debussy – Rameau (2020), Reflections featuring Hania Rani, Balmorhea, and Hugar and Helgi Jonsson (2021), Mozart & Contemporaries (2021), and From Afar (2022). In 2023, Víkingur Ólafsson released Bach: Goldberg Variations, a passion project that he had been dreaming of recording for 25 years.
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