Classical concerts featuring

Víkingur Ólafsson

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich / Víkingur Ólafsson / Paavo Järvi

Víkingur Ólafsson’s thing is to engage intensively with a work or a composer. After his fascinating world tour with Bach’s Goldberg Variations last season, the Icelandic pianist returns as soloist with Schumann’s Piano Concerto. As a lively addition, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich contributes his »Rhenish« Symphony – a showpiece for the Swiss orchestra and its energetic chief conductor Paavo Järvi. You can hear in the cheerfully flowing sounds of this symphony the motivational boost that the move from Leipzig to Düsseldorf on the Rhine meant for the composer.

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich / Víkingur Ólafsson / Paavo Järvi

Since the Elbphilharmonie opened, Estonian star conductor Paavo Järvi has been one of its permanent guests, enchanting Hamburg audiences at several concerts a year. Now the conductor of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen again comes to the Grand Hall with his second top orchestra, the venerable Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. They will be joined by Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, who gave two brilliant renderings of Johann Sebastian Bach’s »Goldberg Variations« in Hamburg last season. On the programme is a new piano concerto by US composer John Adams, which was commissioned by the Elbphilharmonie among others. And the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich tackles two of the most famous modern orchestral pieces by György Ligeti and Witold Lutosławski, who skilfully combined folk music from Hungary and Poland with a thrilling orchestral sound in the 1950s.

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich / Paavo Järvi

With the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, its musical director the Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi, and the music of John Adams—which he sometimes performs alongside the composer—Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson is on friendly turf.

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich

Newly appointed Düsseldorf music director's "Rhenish" Symphony, possibly inspired by Cologne Cathedral, exudes the motivational boost of his move to the Rhine. Paavo Järvi conducts this energetic piece, following Arvo Pärt's soundscapes. Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson returns as soloist in Schumann's Piano Concerto, after a global tour with Bach's Goldberg Variations.

Shani, Ólafsson · Adams, Bernstein

Shani, Ólafsson · Adams, Bernstein

Víkingur Ólafsson

Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson is currently one of the most acclaimed and sought-after pianists in the world. The New York Times coined him ”Iceland's Glenn Gould”, and his recordings are showered with five-star reviews. This season, he is the Artist-in-Residence at Konserthuset Stockholm.Following the success of Bach's Goldberg Variations, which he performed to a full house here at Konserthuset last season, he takes on another of classical music's great B's this season – Beethoven. At this solo recital, we hear Beethoven's late piano sonatas.Beethoven is never predictable, and in his final sonatas, he is reflective and melancholic, ecstatically passionate, humorous, and life-affirming; the music is like a whole life story. ”Beethoven's last three sonatas are a kind of testament”, says Víkingur Ólafsson.

Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto

Icelandic Víkingur Ólafsson is currently one of the world's most acclaimed and sought-after pianists. The New York Times coined him ”Iceland's Glenn Gould”, and his recordings are showered with five-star reviews. This season, he is the Artist-in-Residence at Konserthuset Stockholm.Following the success of Bach's Goldberg Variations, which he performed to a full house here at Konserthuset last season, he takes on more of the classical music world’s great Bs – Brahms and Beethoven. A few days before this concert, he performs Beethoven’s late piano sonatas in a solo recital. Last autumn, he played Brahms' first piano concerto, and now Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.When Beethoven moved to Vienna, it was as a pianist that he first made his breakthrough. Audiences were captivated by his dazzling technique and improvisational skill. At the heart of his piano output are the five magnificent piano concertos, with the Emperor Concerto being the fifth. The title Emperor Concerto refers to the majestic first movement, which begins with powerful orchestral chords and virtuosic arpeggios and runs spanning the entire keyboard.French conductor Stéphane Denève also leads the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in American Stacy Garrop's beautiful Penelope Waits from 2013, inspired by Greek mythology, and mythological music with dance themes by Paul Dukas and Richard Strauss.

Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto

Icelandic Víkingur Ólafsson is currently one of the world's most acclaimed and sought-after pianists. The New York Times coined him ”Iceland's Glenn Gould”, and his recordings are showered with five-star reviews. This season, he is the Artist-in-Residence at Konserthuset Stockholm.Following the success of Bach's Goldberg Variations, which he performed to a full house here at Konserthuset last season, he takes on more of the classical music world’s great Bs – Brahms and Beethoven. A few days before this concert, he performs Beethoven’s late piano sonatas in a solo recital. Last autumn, he played Brahms' first piano concerto, and now Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.When Beethoven moved to Vienna, it was as a pianist that he first made his breakthrough. Audiences were captivated by his dazzling technique and improvisational skill. At the heart of his piano output are the five magnificent piano concertos, with the Emperor Concerto being the fifth. The title Emperor Concerto refers to the majestic first movement, which begins with powerful orchestral chords and virtuosic arpeggios and runs spanning the entire keyboard.French conductor Stéphane Denève also leads the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in American Stacy Garrop's beautiful Penelope Waits from 2013, inspired by Greek mythology, and mythological music with dance themes by Paul Dukas and Richard Strauss.