Víkingur Ólafsson

Critics can’t help but draw parallels between pianist Víkingur Ólafsson’s pristine, crystalline touch at the keyboard and the bracing landscapes of his native Iceland: light reflected on snow, mountainous vistas, sparkling Nordic waterfalls. Ólafsson’s recordings have been wildly popular internationally, winning both Album of the Year at the BBC Music Magazine Awards and Gramophone’s Artist of the Year in 2019—but he rarely tours stateside. Known for both his imaginative interpretations and his engaging onstage banter, Ólafsson plays the complete set of Bach’s Goldberg Variations—his renditions praised by Bachtrack as “a complete show of mastery and virtuosity”—in his Cal Performances debut.