Víkingur Ólafsson Essentials

Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson has attracted broad critical attention for his ability to envision the classical repertoire as something malleable. While he brings meticulous rigour to whatever he interprets, he also makes space for his own sensibilities to influence his readings, whether he’s playing J.S. Bach, Frédéric Chopin or Philip Glass. Not only has he taken liberties with the openness inherent in Bach’s scores—colouring the pieces with his own exquisite touch and vision—but he’s embraced electronic remixes of his performances by the likes of Ben Frost and Valgeir Sigurdsson, viewing classical music as a material ripe for reimagining through a 21st-century lens.