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The Icelandic pianist, Vikingur Ólafsson, graduated from the class of Robert McDonald at The Juilliard School in New York in 2008.
Passionate about music of all times, Vikingur Ólafsson enjoys a versatile life as a musician. Since graduating, he has worked as a soloist and chamber musician, performing with musicians ranging from Martin Frost to Bjork, appearing with the Juilliard Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Caput Ensemble and Turku Philharmonic Orchestra. He holds special interest in music of our times and aims to commission one new piano concerto each season. Up to date he has premiered concertos by Snorri Birgisson (2006), Daniel Bjarnason The New Juilliard Ensemble, (2009), Haukur Tomasson (2010) as well as chamber and solo pieces by Mark-Anthony Turnage and Olafur Axelsson.
Vikingur Ólafsson has given master-classes at Oxford University and Reykjavik College of Music as well as giving outreach recitals for students of all educational levels with the aim to open up new windows into classical music. He has also worked in media to promote music and currently holds a contract to produce and write a 10 episode television series about music for the Icelandic Broadcasting Service.
Vikingur Ólafsson’s awards and recognitions include two Icelandic Music awards, The American-Scandinavian Society Cultural Prize, Birgir Einarson Memorial Award, Juilliard Bartok Concerto competition prize, Rotary Foundation Cultural Grant and Icelandic Optimism Prize 2009, awarded by the presidential office to an outstanding artist in any field. He was the youngest nominee for the Nordic Council Music Prize 2009.
His debut CD featuring the 7 Fantasies Op. 116 and 16 Waltzes by Johannes Brahms as well as L.v. Beethoven’s Eroica Variations was recorded in Gewandhaus and released by his own record label Hands on Music in 2009. |
