Programme
And other works by Johannes Brahms and Johann Sebastian Bach
Late mastery
Cleverly conceived and unusual programmes are Víkingur Ólafsson's trademark. Whether he brings Johann Sebastian Bach into dialogue with György Kurtág, Claude Debussy with Jean-Philippe Rameau - or simply plays Bach's ‘Goldberg Variations’ exclusively for a season: When the Icelander sits at the piano, you can be sure to learn something new and hear something familiar in a completely new way. The focus of his current solo programme is Ludwig van Beethoven's late E major Sonata op. 109 - a work that still puzzles the music world today. Is the dreamlike, harmonious composition a secret declaration of love, perhaps even to the dedicatee Maximiliane Brentano? Whether Víkingur Ólafsson will provide the answer to this question remains to be seen: In any case, in combination with works by Johannes Brahms and Johann Sebastian Bach, he once again opens up an exciting cosmos of sound that allows us to hear this central work in a completely new way.