Víkingur Ólafsson

It will not surprise fans of the probing, insightful pianist Víkingur Ólafsson that his newest project goes deep. Previously, he devoted an entire season of performances to Bach’s Goldberg Variations—playing the cycle for 88 concerts in total, including at Cal Performances in May 2024—because, in his words, “I wanted to know how deeply I can dive into a composition and how many different facets I can discover in it.” He won a Grammy this year for his sterling recording of that work.

Here, Ólafsson turns his attention to Beethoven’s innovative and emotive Opus 109 piano sonata, taking us on a journey of musical inspiration and influence that includes side trips through the keyboard music of Bach and Schubert, interspersed between movements.