Víkingur Ólafsson

Classical

The next Víkingur Ólafsson concert is scheduled for Sunday, June 8, 2025 at Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Chicago, IL, United States. See all 2 upcoming concerts

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Top Songs By Víkingur Ólafsson

Listen to The Arts and the Hours by Víkingur Ólafsson, see lyrics, music video & more!

The Arts and the HoursVíkingur Ólafsson

Listen to Ave María (Arr. Víkingur Ólafsson) [Grand Piano] by Víkingur Ólafsson, see lyrics, music video & more!

Ave María (Arr. Víkingur Ólafsson) [Grand Piano]Víkingur Ólafsson

Listen to Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Aria by Víkingur Ólafsson, see lyrics, music video & more!

Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: AriaVíkingur Ólafsson

Listen to Les tendres plaintes by Víkingur Ólafsson, see lyrics, music video & more!

Les tendres plaintesVíkingur Ólafsson

Listen to Cantata, BWV 12: Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen (Arr. Ólafsson for Piano) by Víkingur Ólafsson, see lyrics, music video & more!

Cantata, BWV 12: Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen (Arr. Ólafsson for Piano)Víkingur Ólafsson

Listen to Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339: V. Laudate Dominum omnes gentes (Arr. Víkingur Ólafsson) [Grand Piano] by Víkingur Ólafsson, see lyrics, music video & more!

Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339: V. Laudate Dominum omnes gentes (Arr. Víkingur Ólafsson) [Grand Piano]Víkingur Ólafsson

Listen to Préludes / Book 2, L. 123: 5. Bruyères by Víkingur Ólafsson, see lyrics, music video & more!

Préludes / Book 2, L. 123: 5. BruyèresVíkingur Ólafsson

Listen to Concerto in D Minor, BWV 974: II. Adagio by Víkingur Ólafsson, see lyrics, music video & more!

Concerto in D Minor, BWV 974: II. AdagioVíkingur Ólafsson

Listen to Piano Sonata No. 34 in C Minor: I. Larghetto by Víkingur Ólafsson, see lyrics, music video & more!

Piano Sonata No. 34 in C Minor: I. LarghettoVíkingur Ólafsson

Listen to Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Var. 21 by Víkingur Ólafsson, see lyrics, music video & more!

Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Var. 21Víkingur Ólafsson

Upcoming Concerts for Víkingur Ólafsson

Latest Release

Listen to Continuum - EP by Víkingur Ólafsson

ALBUMContinuum - EPVíkingur Ólafsson

More albums from Víkingur Ólafsson

Listen to J. S. Bach: Goldberg Variations by Víkingur Ólafsson

ALBUMJ. S. Bach: Goldberg VariationsVíkingur Ólafsson

Listen to From Afar by Víkingur Ólafsson

ALBUMFrom AfarVíkingur Ólafsson

Listen to Mozart & Contemporaries by Víkingur Ólafsson

ALBUMMozart & ContemporariesVíkingur Ólafsson

Listen to Reflections by Víkingur Ólafsson

ALBUMReflectionsVíkingur Ólafsson

Listen to Debussy – Rameau by Víkingur Ólafsson

ALBUMDebussy – RameauVíkingur Ólafsson

Listen to Johann Sebastian Bach by Víkingur Ólafsson

ALBUMJohann Sebastian BachVíkingur Ólafsson

Listen to Darkest Hour (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Dario Marianelli & Víkingur Ólafsson

ALBUMDarkest Hour (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)Dario Marianelli & Víkingur Ólafsson

Listen to Philip Glass: Piano Works by Víkingur Ólafsson

ALBUMPhilip Glass: Piano WorksVíkingur Ólafsson

Listen to Vikingur Olafsson: Chopin / Bach by Víkingur Ólafsson

ALBUMVikingur Olafsson: Chopin / BachVíkingur Ólafsson

ALBUMDebutVíkingur Ólafsson

Víkingur Ólafsson's Popular Music Videos

JS Bach: Concerto in D Minor (After Alessandro Marcello), BWV 974: II. Adagio

Víkingur Ólafsson

J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Aria

Víkingur Ólafsson

Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Minor, K. 457: I. Molto allegro

Víkingur Ólafsson

Jóhannsson, Ólafsson: Flight From The City (Víkingur Ólafsson Rework)

Víkingur Ólafsson, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Yuki Numata Resnick, Tarn Travers, Ben Russell, Clarice Jensen & Christian Badzura

Bartók: 3 Hungarian Folksongs from the Csìk, Sz. 35a (Grand Piano)

Víkingur Ólafsson

Debussy: La fille aux cheveux de lin

Víkingur Ólafsson

J.S. Bach: Prelude & Fugue in C Minor (Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, No. 2), BWV 847, 1. Prelude

Víkingur Ólafsson

Rameau, Ólafsson: The Arts and the Hours

Víkingur Ólafsson

J.S. Bach: Prelude & Fugue, BWV 855a, 1. Prelude No. 10 in B Minor (Transcr. by Alexander Siloti)

Víkingur Ólafsson

J.S. Bach: Organ Sonata No. 4, BWV 528: 2. Andante [Adagio] (Transcr. Stradal)

Víkingur Ólafsson

Artist Playlists

Víkingur Ólafsson Essentials

A classical pianist who embraces the music’s evolution.

Víkingur Ólafsson: Video Essentials

An expressive human vessel for contemplative piano.

Track by Track: Víkingur Ólafsson on Mozart & Contemporaries

“This album shows just how awesome some of Mozart’s contemporaries were.”

About Víkingur Ólafsson

Hometown

Reykjavík, Iceland

Born

1984

Genre

Classical

Whether it is a Bach transcription, a Mozart concerto, or Adès' cross-rhythmic In Seven Days, Vikingur Ólafsson's piano playing sparkles. Born in 1984 in Reykjavík, Ólafsson was taught by his mother before going on to study at New York's Juilliard School with Jerome Lowenthal. The Icelandic pianist appeared on the soundtrack to 2017's Winston Churchill biopic, Darkest Hour, making his solo recording debut via Deutsche Grammophon in the same year. That collection of pieces by Philip Glass—released to mark the composer's 80th birthday—and subsequent Bach album (2018) secured Ólafsson's place in the pantheon of pianists; the latter was named BBC Music Magazine's Recording of the Year in 2019. Ólafsson has given some unusual performances: In 2014 he participated in artist Roman Signer's installation Vers la Flamme—A Concert with Interruption, which saw the pianist perform Scriabin’s Vers la Flamme on a miniature floating stage in the middle of Lake Vernago in Italy as a helicopter descended from above, while during the 2020 lockdowns he broadcast weekly recitals from Reykjavík's then-empty concert hall Harpa (for BBC Radio 4's Front Row). Ólafsson's 2022 extended recital album, From Afar, features works by Brahms, György Kurtág, Robert Schumann, and others, recorded on both upright and grand pianos.

Influenced by Víkingur ÓlafssonVíkingur Ólafsson has influenced the music of Robert Fleitz, John Sarafian, Panos Lettas and more.