‘Víkingur Ólafsson’

After his incomparable performance of Bach’s Goldberg Variations a few years back, the Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson is returning to Brussels for a recital. This time, he has chosen a few short pieces and sonatas by Bach, Beethoven and Schubert. The highlight of the evening will be Beethoven’s Opus 109, the first of his three late piano sonatas. It is a striking example of a deeply personal testimony, turned inwards as if Beethoven was no longer willing (or able) to hear what the outside world had to say. He departs from the classical sonata form in favour of distinctive series of variations with many changes of tempo. Surprisingly enough, Beethoven has been missing until now from the immensely successful albums that the ‘Icelandic Glenn Gould’ has released on Deutsche Grammophon. But who knows where this recital might lead?