Continuum Víkingur Ólafsson

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Cantata, BWV 159:
• 1 Bach: Cantata, BWV 159: Es ist vollbracht (Arr. Ólafsson for Piano) 04:22
• Cantata, BWV 21:
• 2 Bach: Cantata, BWV 21: Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis (Arr. Ólafsson for Piano) 03:19
• Cantata, BWV 150:
• 3 Bach: Cantata, BWV 150: Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (Arr. Ólafsson for Piano) 02:03
• Das alte Jahr vergangen ist, BWV 614 (Arr. Kurtág for Piano 4 Hands):
• 4 Bach: Das alte Jahr vergangen ist, BWV 614 (Arr. Kurtág for Piano 4 Hands) 03:40
• Cantata, BWV 12:
• 5 Bach: Cantata, BWV 12: Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen (Arr. Ólafsson for Piano) 02:38
• Komm, süßer Tod, BWV 478 (Arr. Bauer for Piano):
• 6 Bach: Komm, süßer Tod, BWV 478 (Arr. Bauer for Piano) 03:23
• Total Runtime 19:25

Info for Continuum

After completing his world tour with Bach's Goldberg Variations, pianist Víkingur Ólafsson releases his EP Continuum. The work contains six new interpretations of various pieces by the iconic composer, four of which were arranged by Ólafsson himself and two by other composers. He recorded the piano arrangements of Bach's sacred music in Reykjavík's Harpa concert hall in January.

‘When I play Bach's works, I realise that historical epochs in music are concepts that we project onto something that is basically a continuum: an uninterrupted river that connects us all, a flowing stream that runs through us - what the Germans call a Bach, by the way,’ says the pianist. Continuum is Víkingur Ólafsson's personal Bach diary, a dialogue with Bach's music and an ongoing homage to his artistic work.

Vikingur Ólafsson, piano

Víkingur Ólafsson
Possessing a rare combination of passionate musicality, explosive virtuosity and intellectual curiosity, Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson has won all the major prizes in his native country, including four Musician of the Year prizes at the Icelandic Music Awards as well as The Icelandic Optimism Prize.

Víkingur’s 2016/17 season includes performances with NDR Elbphilhamonie Orchester and Los Angeles Philharmonic under Esa-Pekka Salonen, tour with Orkester Norden (Lawrence Foster) and concerts with Iceland Symphony Orchestra (Yan Pascal Tortelier) and MDR Sinfonieorchester (Kristjan Järvi). Since February 2016 he has taken over from Martin Fröst as Artistic Director of Vinterfest in Sweden while continuing in the same role for the award winning Reykjavík Midsummer Music, which he founded in 2012. In recital he will make his debut at Wiener Konzerthaus, Konzerthaus Berlin, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Louisiana Museum for Modern Art Denmark, La Folle Journée Festival as well in Leipzig and at the Istanbul Music Festival.

Víkingur signed an exclusive agreement with Deutsche Grammophon in November 2016. His debut album for DG will feature the piano works of Philip Glass and is set to be released in time for the composer’s 80th birthday in January 2017. In 2015 Víkingur recorded solo works by Igor Stravinsky for the company’s complete works edition of the composer and before that, he released 3 albums on his own label, Dirrindí Music. The first two were solo discs; ‘Debut’, (showing “exceptional perception and depth of maturity,” said EPTA Journal) and ‘Chopin-Bach’ (prompting Piano News Magazine to say “Immense talent … you must listen to this young pianist!”). His third album was a double CD/DVD release of ‘Winterreise’ with bass Kristinn Sigmundsson, which won the Album of the Year award at the Icelandic Music Awards 2012.

Víkingur has premiered five piano concertos to date and worked with composers including Philip Glass, Mark Simpson and Daníel Bjarnason. He has collaborated with leading artists from diverse fields, such as Roman Signer, Lillevan and Yann Malka, and appeared at festivals such as Busoni and Transart (Bolzano), MITO SettembreMusica (Milano) and Nordic Cool (Washington DC). When it comes to his relationships with other musicians, Víkingur has worked with Sayaka Shoji, István Várdai, Martin Fröst, Pekka Kuusisto and Björk.

Away from the concert stage, Víkingur is the driving force behind numerous innovative musical projects. Most recently the classical music television series, Útúrdúr (Out-of-tune), produced for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service in 2013-14, was broadcast to unanimous critical and public acclaim.

Víkingur grew up in Iceland where he studied with Erla Stefánsdóttir and Peter Máté. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Jerome Lowenthal and Robert McDonald.

This album contains no booklet.