Vikingur Olafsson writes......Debussy has been with me as far back as I can remember, but my first encounter with the keyboard music of Rameau was Emil Gilels' 1951 recording of "Le rappel des oiseaux", which I came across during my student days in New York. I was immediately fascinated by the music and how well it lends itself to the modern piano, at least in Gilels' noble rendition, with its layered textures and light and shades. But it wasn't until the spring of 2019, as I waited (and waited and waited) for the birth of my first child that I finally had the chance, having cleared some weeks in my concert schedule, to sit down with all of Rameau's published keyboard works and read through every one of them. A world of wonder revealed itself: ingenious works of remarkable diversity, rarely programmed or recorded on the modern instrument. 90.1WRTI: Philadelphia's DEBRA LEW HARDER writes......Icelandic pianist Vikingur Ólafsson's third release for Deutsche Grammophon captivates with every note and poses an intriguing question. What connects two French masters-Claude Debussy and Jean-Philippe Rameau-despite the difference of over a century, the difference of the keyboard instruments they wrote for, and the difference of two contrasting stylistic eras of music? It turns out, under Ólafsson's hands, a lot. This generous album of 28 selections shows how Jean-Phillipe Rameau, Baroque master of the harpsichord, and Claude Debussy, Impressionist composer who wrote for the modern piano, share common threads. The pianist brings to each composer's works a similar elegance, clarity of line, and emotional coherence. READ THE FULL ARTICLE & WATCH THE VIDEOS

Listen to our critics' favorites from a year in which much of the energy in music came from recordings. By Anthony Tommasini, Zachary Woolfe, Joshua Barone, Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, David Allen and Seth Colter Walls Few musicians craft their albums with as much care as Vikingur Olafsson, whose "Debussy Rameau" is a brilliantly conceived, nearly 30-track conversation across centuries between two French masters. There is one modern intervention: Mr. Olafsson's solo arrangement of an interlude from Rameau's "Les Boréades" - tender and reverential, a wellspring of grace. JOSHUA BARONE "Debussy Rameau"; Vikingur Olafsson, piano (Deutsche Grammophon)

This week we shared NPR Music's best songs and albums of 2020, lists voted on, politely argued over and presented by our staff, station partners and contributors. Today we're featuring the good stuff from the private reserves. Below you'll find lists of top 10 albums and songs from the members of NPR Music's staff. Jacob Ganz - SENIOR EDITOR, NPR MUSIC writes; I craved proficiency, calm, earned confidence, self-knowledge. I could have filled a dozen more spots with great songs - apologies to Rod Wave's "Ribbon In The Sky," Sam Hunt's "Hard to Forget," Lil Durk's "The Voice," Rico Nasty's "IPHONE," Ultraista's "Tin King," Men I Trust's "Lucky Sue," Yves Tumor's "Gospel for a New Century," Tyler Childers's "Long Violent History" and basically every song off Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia. Yes, this is technically cheating. Fair play for a year that cheated us out of plenty. For his 'Top 10 Albums Of 2020,' Jacob picks;  Víkingur Ólafsson, Debussy • Rameau Tom Huizenga - CLASSICAL CRITIC, NPR MUSIC writes This year kept me guessing at every stress-filled twist in the road. It began normally, so I reveled in the flamboyance of Thomas Adès' extraordinary piano concerto. But after that late February release, as pandemic statistics mounted and protests grew louder, I self-medicated by clinging to music even tighter. I was drawn to tranquil and cathartic albums by Víkingur Ólafsson and Anna Clyne, and music that shouted for justice from SAULT and William Dawson. Still, there was room for discovery, and perhaps the greatest gift has been a rich trove of beautiful, soulful songs reissued by the nearly forgotten Beverly Glenn-Copeland. For his 'Top 10 Songs Of 2020' Tom picks Víkingur Ólafsson, "The Arts and the Hours" For his 'Top 10 Albums Of 2020,' Tom Picks; Víkingur Ólafsson, Debussy • Rameau SEE NPR PAGE

Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson has won the Limelight Recording of the Year 2020 for his album pairing music by Debussy and Rameau on Deutsche Grammophon. This may be only his third recording for the Yellow Label, but Ólafsson has made repeated waves thanks to his distinctive and refreshing approach to programming coupled with a breathtaking clarity of technique. Clive Paget caught up with him at home in Reykjavík to discuss the pianist's relationships with each of the two composers, how the album came together, and why, for Ólafsson, an award from an Aussie magazine is especially welcome.  Photos © Ari Magg / Deutsche Grammophon READ THE FULL LIMELIGHT ARTICLE 

A brand new global poll is launching to find today's best-loved classical musician. The poll gives voters a shortlist of 100 best-selling living classical artists to choose from. The uDiscover Classical 100 is the first of its kind – a major international initiative, offering fans worldwide the chance to vote for their favourite living artist. Based on global sales data, The uDiscover Classical 100 offers a shortlist of 100 of the best-selling living classical artists to vote for. Among the contenders are superstar pianists Lang Lang and Yuja Wang, cellists Yo-Yo Ma and Sheku Kanneh-Mason, composers John Williams and Max Richter, as well as singers Andrea Bocelli and Renée Fleming. The uDiscover Classical 100 aims to shine a light on today's leading musicians, from established conductors like Sir Simon Rattle and Gustavo Dudamel to ground-breaking young artists like Nicola Benedetti and Víkingur Ólafsson. Sam Jackson, Executive Vice President of Global Classics and Jazz, Universal Music Group, comments: "Charts that focus on repertoire or composers are well established in the classical music world, but this is the first time a global poll has been created to confirm the world's favourite classical artist. The winner will be announced in the New Year. Main image: ©uDiscover Music   Want to have your say? Vote here. READ THE FULL Pianist ARTICLE

A few weeks ago, a new recording of Claude Debussy and Jean-Philippe Rameau works by Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson arrived in the mail courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon. I wondered at the pairing of these two French composers, who lived centuries apart. I know Debussy (1862-1918) well, but Rameau (1683-1764) not so much. Then I started listening. Boy, was I in for a surprise! As always, I loved the Debussy selections, which include well-known works such as Children's Corner and Estampes, as well as his Préludes. On the other hand, I wasn't familiar with Rameau's works, but was stunned by their poise and beauty. Rameau was a leading music theorist and composer for opera as well as the harpsichord in the 18th century. I haven't particularly loved works by 18th century French composers, many of which I've only heard on period instruments such as harpsichords. But those same compositions played on a modern piano in the hands of Víkingur Ólafsson and well, it's a different story. I read Ólafsson's liner notes with interest to understand his thinking on the pairing, selections, and arrangements. It turns out that Ólafsson himself didn't really discover Rameau's works until spring of 2019, as they were "rarely programmed or recorded on the modern instrument." He described his discovery of Rameau as similar to Debussy's experience when the latter saw a performance of Rameau's opera Castor et Pollux. Debussy called the music "so personal in tone, so new in construction, that space and time are defeated and Rameau seems to be (our) contemporary." I hope you enjoy this album as much as I do. It is a terrific introduction to both Debussy and Rameau, especially the latter. Rameau's works sometimes reminds me of Keith Jarrett's solo piano compositions. If you listen to Bill Evans or other modern jazz pianists, you are hearing the influence of Debussy (and Ravel, too). READ THE FULL 89.9KCRW - Rhythm Planet ARTICLE & WATCH THE VIDEOS

After decades of respectful, even beatific enshrinement, classical repertoire is being challenged, tested, and "tough loved" by its fondest champions. Among the smartest recording labels, one-composer programs - the norm since the arrival of the LP record in the early 1950s - are giving way to conceptual collections of music that juxtapose the ancient and modern, progressive and retrogressive, as well as the familiar and the obscure. Only their psychotherapists can say why with any certainty. Certainly, such programs have the benefit of prompting audience curiosity. In other words, they exist because they can. Vikingur Ólafsson's recent Debussy Rameau pairing on Deutsche Grammophon is hardly the first to the party, though comparing the two composers' similar harmonic awareness in their respective centuries (20th and 18th) isn't just instructive - it's delicious. Stretching beyond what was previously imaginable, David Greilsammer's Scarlatti: Cage: Sonatas (Sony) pairs amiably melodic Domenico Scarlatti with the exotic prepared piano sounds of John Cage. How could those two possibly go together? They just do: The dreamy, bell-like sonorities of Cage seem like some lost Balinese progeny of Scarlatti.  READ THE FULL 105.9WQXR: New York ARTICLE

The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music's Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It's the same spirit - stripped-down sets, an intimate setting - just a different space. "I hope everybody stays safe and is good to each other," Víkingur Ólafsson says at the end of this beautiful four-song set. Before he packed his final bags to return to his native Iceland, the pianist gave one last performance from his home in Berlin. His career has moved from strength to strength, releasing three terrific albums in a row (Philip Glass, J.S. Bach, Debussy-Rameau). And now that he has a young son, he wants to spend as much time with the family as possible these days. After grounding us in the resilient music of Bach, Ólafsson offers a crash course in the fascinating music of Jean-Philippe Rameau and Claude Debussy, two French composers who lived nearly 200 years apart. Ólafsson connects the dots between the two seemingly strange bedfellows, illustrating his points with demonstrations on his Steinway. Ólafsson has penchant for making transcriptions, taking pieces written for other instruments and making them his own. He closes with "The Arts and the Hours," his mesmerizing arrangement of a scene from Rameau's final opera, which he plays as a farewell to his Berlin apartment.   SET LIST J.S. Bach (arr. Stradal): "Andante" (from Organ Sonata No. 4) Rameau: "Le rappel des oiseaux" Debussy: "The Snow is Dancing" (from Children's Corner) Rameau (arr. Ólafsson): "The Arts and the Hours" (from Les Boréades) MUSICIANS Víkingur Ólafsson: piano WATCH THE VIDEO   CREDITS Video by: Anusch Alimirzaie; Audio by: Anusch Alimirzaie; Producer: Tom Huizenga; Audio Mastering Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Video Producer: Morgan Noelle Smith; Executive Producer: Lauren Onkey; Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

After the remarkable global success of his award-winning Bach recording, celebrated Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson returns with his third solo album. Debussy · Rameau juxtaposes pieces by two of the greatest French composers – both musical revolutionaries – exploring the contrasts and common ground between them. Ólafsson says, "As extraordinary innovators of both harmony and form, with a unique ear for color and a keen sense of the theatrical, both Rameau and Debussy wrote music which engages more senses than just that of hearing." For April 20 2020, Vikingur Olafsson - Debussy and Rameau is the 98.7WFMT: Chicago 'Featured New Release.'  SEE THE PAGE

Looking for some new tunes? Presenting the legendary Grapevine playlist. Here's Jean-Philippe Rameau - Víkingur Ólafsson arr. of "The Arts and the Hours" The perfect track for these anxiety-inducing times, Vikingur Olafsson's virtuoso piano playing will soothe even the most jangled nerves. Víkingur's arrangement-transcribed from Rameau's last opera ‘Les Boréades'-is the enchanting centrepiece on Víkingur's soon-to-be-released album, which will pay homage to two French greats of the classical world-Rameau and Debussy. PA SEE The FULL Reykjavic Grapevine Playlist

Music affords an escape, takes us back in time to reflect on the present, mirrors our aches and joys and offers serenity. As relentless news about the coronavirus continues, these albums were gifts during difficult times. This month, that included surprise drops from Víkingur Oláfsson. With his trademark transparency and warmth, Víkingur Oláfsson facilitates a colorful dialog between two groundbreaking French composers born nearly 200 years apart. Like a mixtape, the Icelandic pianist juxtaposes Rameau's expressive flourishes with Debussy's ethereal harmonies to reveal striking connections between the two masters. - Tom Huizenga SEE THE FULL npr PAGE

When Víkingur Ólafsson was about 5 years old, he already knew what he wanted to be. "It sounds crazy, but I always saw myself as a concert pianist," he says. "Even if I wasn't a good pianist." The Icelandic musician, who turned 36 last month, has become a very good pianist indeed. Whether playing baroque or contemporary music, Ólafsson's technique is formidable, but it's transparency combined with warmth that has defined his singular sound. He is sought after by the world's top orchestras and concert venues and has signed on with the swanky Deutsche Grammophon record label. After well-received albums of Philip Glass and J.S. Bach, his latest album, Debussy – Rameau, was released March 27. The recording unfolds almost like a classical mixtape, with Ólafsson juxtaposing tracks by two French composers, born almost two centuries apart, who both broke new ground in music. The pianist says he tried to create a conversation between Jean-Philippe Rameau, the baroque master who literally wrote the book on French harmony, and Claude Debussy, who, straddling the 19th and 20th centuries, absorbed those theories and then, as Ólafsson says, "threw them out the window." Over the phone from his home in Reykjavík, the young pianist spoke with NPR about the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on his relationship to music, the idea of Debussy as a "bank robber" and why he has been dubbed "Iceland's Glenn Gould." This interview has been edited for length and clarity.        

READ THE Q&A

People worldwide have absorbed the guidelines as the coronavirus pandemic has closed its fist around the world. There is also the question of how to care for the psyche. It's a deeply personal matter. Some turn to prayer, or to a song, a story, a ritual, a favorite corner of the house. Psychic health is not just about becoming calmer, either. Anger and frustration and fear have to find their channels. Humor has to be preserved. So, somehow, does joy. Our Daily Breather seeks recommendations for psychic health from people who go deep into their own hearts and minds: artists and writers. Creative people have been uniquely affected by the onset of the current pandemic. Still they continue to dream, and to create. They can help us understand how.  I'm finding both comfort and inspiration from this recent video featuring the Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson playing his own arrangement of music by the French Baroque composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. The piece, called "The Arts and the Hours," moves gently forward as a kind of chilled out processional. It's constancy in rhythm, combined with its uncommon beauty of melody and harmony, provides a certain sturdiness that I need right now in this moment of extreme uncertainty. READ THE FULL npr ARTICLE & WATCH THE VIDEO

The pianist Vikingur Olafsson's recording career could be described as a constant refusal to be pinned down. His debut on the Deutsche Grammophon label, in 2017, featured Philip Glass's études, and he was encouraged to follow it with more Minimalism. But Mr. Olafsson insisted on something else entirely: a winding album of Bach. Again, he was asked to record more of the same. And again, Mr. Olafsson, now 36, didn't. His third Deutsche Grammophon album - "Debussy Rameau," out March 27 - is similar to his Bach in its sprawling ambition. But it's new in its juxtapositional structure. The album's 28 tracks, which include a tender transcription by Mr. Olafsson from Rameau's opera "Les Boréades," are a dual portrait and an experimental colloquy, exploring what these two composers share across centuries: pathbreaking individualism, and, at times, a synesthetic approach to music. The program begins with Debussy's 1906 transcription of the prelude to his cantata "La Damoiselle Élue," which is based on a poem and painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. It depicts an impossible conversation - a woman gazing at her lover from heaven - which is how Mr. Olafsson envisioned the album. So the prelude, with its inconclusive ending, leads directly into Rameau's "Le Rappel des Oiseaux," and the cross-temporal exchange goes from there. In an interview at Walt Disney Concert Hall here in February, Mr. Olafsson said that he spends about six months assembling the pieces that will go into his albums before he even begins to learn them in earnest. And between each album release - a period of 18 months or so - he tours programs unrelated to his recording projects. He was in California appearing with his Icelandic countryman Daniel Bjarnason, whose new piano concerto will premiere with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Mr. Olafsson next season. Mr. Olafsson has also been playing John Adams's concerto "Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes?" in Europe, with stops planned for the United States. His schedule is increasingly filled with high-profile performances and debuts. (His first collaboration with the New York Philharmonic is another to come next season.) "All of the sudden, everything is happening at the same time," he said. "I got this advice, that it takes 15 years to become famous overnight." This new album is his first dive into Rameau. He long loved Emil Gilels's recording of "Le Rappel des Oiseaux," but it wasn't until Mr. Olafsson was awaiting the birth of his first child last spring that he read through more. "I'm scratching my head over why Rameau's music is not played very much," he said. "With the quality and the inventiveness, and the unpredictability of it all - there's never a formulaic element to these pieces." Those characteristics reminded him of Debussy, a hunch he turned into an album. Here are edited excerpts from a conversation about the recording. Why these specific juxtapositions? It took me three or four months of reordering the album. There are so many versions, and I have like a hundred secret Spotify playlists where I'm working with the order. What I'm trying to do is that "impossible conversation" between Debussy and Rameau. You ended up with quite a lot of tracks. I want the album to be listened to as a playlist, as an entity - as opposed to people taking a few favorite tracks that they like. Which they will do, and that's fine. But I'm sort of secretly trying to push against that, to push for the album as a playlist, as its own work of art. I always think endlessly about two things: of course, the ordering of the pieces and all the little connections, but also the tonality of those pieces. So the album is like a composition in 28 tracks. Why do your albums and your touring programs diverge so much? I see the album as an independent work of art. It is its own world; it should be like a microcosm. There has been a tendency for a very long time to see the idea of recording as an extension of a performing career: to document what you've been up to onstage, and in a way glorify yourself. If you do that, you miss so many wonderful opportunities to get to know music in a different way. You listen differently through headphones, so the music works in ways it wouldn't in a hall, and vice versa. The album deserves its own kind of love and focus. There are artists who do this; Cecilia Bartoli is probably the best example. And those are the albums that I'm drawn to. When I play at Carnegie Hall next season, the first half will be about 60 minutes from the "Debussy Rameau" album. Then the second half is Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," but in the arrangement of Vladimir Horowitz, and also my own. It of course fits so well into this album of pictures in music. How did you reconcile Rameau's style with the modern piano? Playing Rameau on the piano requires you to find your own sound. He wrote a treatise about harpsichord playing, but if you were to play him by his own rules on the modern piano, in my opinion it might not work. The timbre, the dynamics, the range and scope of textures - they make it overcrowded. There are a lot of trills on my album, but I had to spend a lot of time figuring out how to make it my own on the piano, for the modern piano to serve the music. You end the album with Debussy's "Hommage à Rameau." What do you think is the homage there? It's so difficult to pinpoint where the Rameau element is. There is more Rameau in other pieces of Debussy's than in this one. My recording of it is very nostalgic, reflective, looking back in time for sure. It's like when a child really wants to pay homage to its parent, it does so by being itself and finding its own way. You learn from someone, but you don't imitate them; they become a part of you, but on a much deeper level than you can prove or explain. So Debussy bows his head as a composer to a composer, rather than as a student to a teacher. Maybe there is no answer to the question. It's not tangible. It's like everything Debussy did: elusive.

Following his critically acclaimed and multi-award winning recording Johann Sebastian Bach, Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson will release his new album, Debussy • Rameau, on 27 March 2020. The innovative recording juxtaposes pieces by two giants of French music, Claude Debussy and Jean-Philippe Rameau, exploring the contrasts and common ground between them.  Ólafsson explained, "This album is set up as a dialogue between two of my favourite composers, Jean-Philippe Rameau and Claude Debussy. I see them as musical brothers and soulmates, even though one was 180 years older than the other. They were musicians of the future, who loved to stir things up. They were two uniquely gifted keyboard composers, two progressive and fiercely original musical thinkers who could capture incredibly evocative images through sound. I want to show Rameau as a futurist and I want to emphasise Debussy's deep roots in the French baroque – and in Rameau's music in particular. The idea is that the listener almost forgets who is who, while listening to the album." Watch Víkingur Ólafsson perform Debussy's ‘La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin' from his new album Debussy • Rameau.

James Jolly's fortnightly playlist includes a taster of Víkingur Ólafsson's much-anticipated new album 'Debussy - Rameau', Ruby Hughes singing Rhian Samuel's Clytemnestra, Jean-Philippe Collard in Granados's Goyescas and Sheku Kanneh-Mason's Elgar Cello Concerto with Sir Simon Rattle One of the most hotly anticipated albums this quarter is the third release for DG by Gramophone's current Artist of the Year, Víkingur Ólafsson. It's called 'Debussy - Rameau' (due out on March 27). It combines music by two composers Ólafsson considers ‘soul-mates', despite being born a couple of hundred years apart. DG has pre-released Jean-Philippe Rameau's Les tendres plaintes … (Having had a sneak preview of the entire album, it's going to be rather special!) If ‘Debussy - Rameau' is the most exciting forthcoming release, the biggest discovery comes from BIS, and is a work for soprano and orchestra, Clytemnestra by the Welsh composer Rhian Samuel. Written in the mid 1990s for Della Jones, the work has been taken up by the soprano Ruby Hughes, who sings it with breath-taking intensity and beauty. Ruby spoke about the work with me for a Gramophone Podcast, and her passionate advocacy for the work translates wonderfully onto the recording. SEE THE FULL GRAMOPHONE PAGE

Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson has found himself soaked to the skin in accolades in 2019. It all began auspiciously enough with the pianist with Ólafsson beginning piano early, taught by his mother, a music teacher. Ólafsson eventually attended and matriculated from the Juilliard School in New York, with a Bachelor's and Master's degrees directed by Jerome Lowenthal and Robert McDonald. The pianist went on to blaze and international trial with concerts and recitals READ THE FULL All About Jazz ARTICLE p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px}

Two of the most prominent pianists on the Deutsche Grammophon roster were honoured at last night's (10 April) BBC Music Magazine Awards. Daniil Trifonov's Destination Rachmaninov – Departure won the Concerto category and Víkingur Ólafsson's Johann Sebastian Bach was doubly recognised, as both Best Instrumental Album and Album of the Year. "I am very touched to win this important award for my Bach album," said Ólafsson, "and to know that people enjoy listening to it. Playing and recording Bach is in many ways the most personal thing one can do in music, and I am very grateful for the incredibly kind and generous reactions." Ólafsson has been described by the New York Times as "Iceland's Glenn Gould." Daniil Trifonov's Destination Rachmaninov – DepartureTrifonov's Destination Rachmaninov – Departure is the first of two discs devoted to the Russian composer's complete piano concertos. The Russian pianist and composer recorded it with the Philadelphia Orchestra, widely seen as America's finest orchestra, and its music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. READ THE FULL udiscovermusic. ARTICLE

Fresh, emotional, crystalline as glacial water - these are words to describe Icelandic pianist Vikingur Ólafsson's stunning recording, released this season by Deutsche Grammophon, of music of Johann Sebastian Bach. "Bach is a free country." So writes Ólaffson, quoting a "wise man" at the beginning of his own extensive liner notes to the album. This intriguing idea encapsulates the interpretive dilemma and opportunity facing every performer of Bach's music - that although "the musical structures are very detailed, there are hardly any indications as to how you should go about shaping them in performance." p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px} Vikingur Olafsson - Johann Sebastian Bach is the WRTI: Philadelphia 'Classical Album of the Week'. SEE THE PAGE

If anyone doubts the astonishing range and quality of classical music recordings being made today – and, I hope, regular readers of these pages would harbour no such perception – then they should really take heed of this month's releases. Choosing the Editor's Choices is always a difficult task, but this month it was doubly so given just how many recordings had drawn such heart-felt plaudits from our critics. That two major labels should produce extraordinary piano records from leading young artists as different in approach as Igor Levit's deeply thought-out meditation on life, featuring music from Bach to Busoni, and Víkingur Ólafsson's beautifully coloured exploration of, again, Bach, is a powerful reflection of the industry's continuing commitment to not just nurturing the next generation, but to giving them the platforms their music-making deserves. Both artists share an aversion to allowing either themselves or their repertoire to be pigeonholed. At a Deutsche Grammophon event this month Ólafsson reflected on this, citing his upbringing in Iceland as a part of shaping this mindset. In a small country, he said, you simply can't isolate yourself by style, and many musicians happily genre-hop, even from day to day (including, apparently, players stepping between orchestra and heavy metal bands), enriching themselves, their audiences and their art form as they do so. It's a mindset we see more and more among the younger generation of musicians as streaming continues to break down barriers. Levit's album, meanwhile, movingly closes with a work by the jazz pianist and composer Bill Evans.  Speaking of championing young artists, 21 years ago Sony Classical backed a 17-year-old violinist and brought the world her remarkable performances of three of Bach's six sonatas and partitas. Now, courtesy this time of Decca, Hilary Hahn completes the set for us. The result is Bach-playing of breathtaking accomplishment. (And, again, Bach: what is it about this composer that inspires artists to such heights and, indeed, depths?). A superb Recording of the Month.  READ THE FULL Gramophone ARTICLE

Víkingur Ólafsson is a musical free spirit with a mission. He first made the classical world sit up and listen in early 2017 with his recording of solo piano works by Philip Glass – a fascinating journey through the time and space of their minimalist structures. Glass is now followed by Bach. Ólafsson's second Deutsche Grammophon album, the pithily entitled Bach, contains a mixture of original works and transcriptions, which the pianist (known as the Glenn Gould of Iceland!) has woven together in intriguing style. For the Week of October 22nd, Víkingur Ólafsson's brilliant take on Bach is KDFC: San Francisco 'Album Of the Week'

Víkingur Ólafsson is a musical free spirit with a mission. He first made the classical world sit up and listen in early 2017 with his recording of solo piano works by Philip Glass – a fascinating journey through the time and space of their minimalist structures. Glass is now followed by Bach. Ólafsson's second Deutsche Grammophon album, the pithily entitled Bach, contains a mixture of original works and transcriptions, which the pianist (known as the Glenn Gould of Iceland!) has woven together in intriguing style. For the Week of October 22nd, Víkingur Ólafsson's brilliant take on Bach is KUSC: Los Angeles 'Album Of the Week' p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px}

After completing his studies, Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson became a "student" of Bach and immersed himself in his music. "He was just the teacher I needed: the kind that teaches you to be your own teacher." His stunning new recording of original and transcribed works by Bach is WCRB's CD of the Week. Víkingur Ólafsson begins his notes for his new Bach CD by remembering some wise words given to him when he was a young student: Bach is a free country. The meaning? For those who want to bring Bach's music to life, "every element is up for debate." Bach tells you almost nothing about how to play his music. Tempos, articulations, dynamics – all are left to the imagination of the performer. It's essential to have absorbed what's known about the styles and trends of Bach's time. But after that comes a whole lot of soul-searching for what feels and sounds right. Vikingur Olafsson - Johann Sebastian Bach is WCRB: Boston 'CD of the Week.' READ THE FULL WCRB: Boston REVIEW

Following his critically acclaimed recording of piano works by Philip Glass, Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson has released his second album, a collection of both well-known and rarely performed works by Johann Sebastian Bach. Renowned for his innovative music projects, Ólafsson offers listeners a very personal vision of Bach's intricate keyboard music, artfully weaving Bach's original works together with transcriptions by Busoni, Kempff, Ziloti, Rachmaninoff, and Ólafsson himself. Víkingur Ólafsson - Music of Bach is WFMT: Chicago 'Featured New Release'

Contemporary composer, singer-songwriter, pianist and producer Agnes Obel has signed exclusively to Deutsche Grammophon. Obel joins artists on the label including Max Richter, Víkingur Ólafsson, Anoushka Shankar and the late Jóhann Jóhannsson.  The signing will also involve Deutsche Grammophon joining forces with Blue Note for North American releases Don Was, president Blue Note, said: "Agnes is a profoundly imaginative and soulful artist. All of us at Blue Note Records are honoured and thrilled about the opportunity to present her music to US audiences. I'm really looking forward to hearing her new music and am certain that whatever she creates next will emanate from an inspired, honest and unique place." Obel added: "I am very happy to be working with Deutsche Grammophon and Blue Note, two legendary labels with a huge history. I am really looking forward to this next exciting chapter."  READ THE FULL Music Week ARTICLE      p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px} span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}

In spite of the back seat classical music often takes in America in terms of sales figures and sheer visibility, there's nothing wrong with the music itself. This list of 10 albums is a testament to today's vibrant performers and composers, and of course some of the masters from the past. The year began with a celebration of the dean of minimalism, Philip Glass, turning 80 and an extraordinary tribute by pianist Víkingur Ólafsson. It ended with a stentorian paean to maximalism in a gripping account of Les Troyens, Berlioz's grandest of grand operas. In between were great performances by percussionists, choral groups, more pianists, opera singers and one sweet and agile string quartet. Released Jan. 27, four days before Philip Glass turned 80, this album serves as a brilliant birthday present to the composer and a perfect entry point for newcomers or even naysayers. Its sheer beauty may surprise you. No current pianist tackling this increasingly popular repertoire offers the consistent transparency and keen musicianship of Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson. On the album, he offers half of Glass' 20 piano etudes, but begins with "Opening" from Glassworks. Every inner voice is not only clearly audible, but individually shaped. It might be the most haunted and naturally detailed performance so far. The Études have their own personalities and challenges. No. 9 is especially manic in Ólafsson's hands, while No. 2 rolls out in liquid waves like a Debussy Arabesque. No. 14 winks and nods and the rapid fire scales in No. 13 are proof of Ólafsson's precision. Then there's No. 20, which sounds like no other Glass solo piano work. Devoid of the usual repetitions and with aching melancholy, it sounds like Philip Glass meets Franz Schubert in outer space, as bass notes smolder and gorgeous melodies soar and evaporate. The album also features distinctive arrangements of No. 2, No. 5 and "Opening" featuring Ólafsson and the top-notch Siggi String Quartet. SEE ALL NPR Music's Top 10 Classical Albums Of 2017 p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; min-height: 13.0px} p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #263e0f} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #263e0f; min-height: 14.0px}

It's easier to quip about Philip Glass' music than to write intelligently about it. But Víkingur (Heiðar) Ólafsson, the young and trendy Icelandic pianist, shows how it's done in the liner notes to his first release on Deutsche Grammophon. I first heard the Juilliard-taught student of Ann Schein and Seymour Lipkin when he was a stiff tween at the Icelandic Ambassador's residence. His image has changed, since, but the pianism was excellent then as now: His Glass Études (10 of 20) are supple and make this seemingly simple music shine and glitter. While "Opening" from Glassworks evokes the Philip Glass cliché in the piano version, its arrangement for piano and string quartet (Étude No.2 gets the same treatment) becomes an easily savored, filigreed highlight. The CD garnered a second-best four mentions in End-of-the-Year lists. SEE Forbes PAGE & WATCH VIDEO p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; min-height: 13.0px}

Music writers spend their days guiltily staring down literally dozens of unheard new recordings that pile up as the year goes on, with more coming in each day. So it has been an arduous and frustrating but also inspiring and illuminating exercise to narrow NYTimes favorites down to five each, for a list of 25 gorgeous releases that covers a huge amount of chronological and stylistic ground. 5 Crossover Media recordings made this year's list. They are... ‘CHOPIN EVOCATIONS' Daniil Trifonov, piano; Mahler Chamber Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon). Do we need another recording of Chopin's piano concertos? Well, we need this one, because Mr. Trifonov plays them magnificently; because of illuminating chamber-orchestra arrangements by Mikhail Pletnev, who conducts; and because of Chopin-inspired works by Grieg, Barber and others that join. ANTHONY TOMMASINI PHILIP GLASS: Piano Works Vikingur Olafsson (Deutsche Grammophon). Mr. Glass's piano études have been criticized as unmusical, or even boring. But Mr. Olafsson's recording of 10, rich with interpretive depth and surprising turns, is nothing short of eye-opening. J.B. ‘HOMMAGE À BOULEZ' West-Eastern Divan Orchestra; Daniel Barenboim and Pierre Boulez, conductors (Deutsche Grammophon). Boulez, who died in 2016, gets quite the tribute here with more than two hours of music, including "Le Marteau Sans Maître." That score might frighten some young musicians; here, the contralto Hilary Summers and members of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra are fearless. J.B. SIBELIUS: Piano Works Leif Ove Andsnes, piano (Sony Classical). Who knew? Sibelius, composer of seven visionary symphonies, wrote a sizable body of piano pieces that remain mostly neglected. The adventurous Mr. Andsnes discovers them on this exquisitely played album of beguiling, lyrical and quirky works. Even those with tame titles like "Impromptu" startle you. A.T. TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6 MusicAeterna; Teodor Currentzis, conductor (Sony Classical). Some listeners might find the approach here overblown. I do not. There is more cultivated Tchaikovsky out there, to be sure, and more precise, too, but none more faithful to his devastating purpose. The climaxes of the first movement feature some of the scariest conducting I have ever heard, the dark night of a soul pushed over the brink. D.A. ‘THE JOHN ADAMS EDITION' Berlin Philharmonic (Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings). This isn't one recording so much as a hefty collection of them from the 2016-17 season, when Mr. Adams was this orchestra's composer in residence (and occasional conductor). Some classic works are represented alongside more recent ones, led by Alan Gilbert, Gustavo Dudamel, Simon Rattle and Kirill Petrenko. JOSHUA BARONE ‘UNBOUND' Jasper String Quartet (Sono Luminus/New Amsterdam). This quartet's taste in repertoire runs toward post-Minimalist composers who work with melody - and an edge. The pop-style rhythmic fury of Judd Greenstein's "Four on the Floor" is exhilarating. Annie Gosfield's "The Blue Horse Walks on the Horizon" shows some of the same dramatic flair as her recent opera for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. S.C.W. SEE FULL NYTimes ARTICLE & LISTEN TO Playlist of the Best Classical Recordings of 2017 p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; min-height: 13.0px}

Philip Glass' 1982 album Glassworks saw the composer drawing toward shorter, more accessible song forms as delivery vehicles for his nearly mechanized sense of repetition. As played 35 years later by the Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafsson on a fantastic album of works by Glass, the opening movement from Glassworks is the embodiment of hypnotic calm. The transformation comes from Olafsson's careful placement of emphasis within the repeating sets of triplets from which Glass built his work; the space and fluidity he introduces brings this venerable machine to life. -Jacob Ganz   SEE NPR PAGES p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px}

Vikingur Olafsson, who is widely considered Iceland's pre-eminent pianist, hasn't had music lessons since he graduated from the Juilliard School in 2008. He has taken part in a master class here and there, but these days, he says, he learns more by simply listening to his own recordings. "The way we hear music inside our heads is quite different from when you're listening to the playback," Mr. Olafsson, 33, said during a recent interview at Lincoln Center, where he is making his New York recital debut on Friday and Saturday at the Mostly Mozart Festival. "The way you perceive time, and the way it actually is." The technique seems to have paid off: In recent years, Mr. Olafsson has given the premieres of six piano concertos, including one conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Reykjavik Festival in April. And Philip Glass invited Mr. Olafsson to share the billing with him in a performance of his Études. This year, Mr. Olafsson released an album of Mr. Glass's piano works on Deutsche Grammophon. The record makes a strong impression in how much it contrasts with Mr. Glass's own performances. Listen to Mr. Glass's take on Étude No. 2 & read the New York Times Q&A p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial; min-height: 11.0px}

Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival continues its 51st season with a Saturday, August 12, performance at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse with the Icelandic star pianist Víkingur Ólafsson. Making his Mostly Mozart debut, Ólafsson will perform Bach's Partita No. 6, as well as Etudes by Philip Glass, with whom Ólafsson has collaborated closely. This year marks Glass's 80th birthday and Ólafsson's celebrated with a debut album on Deutsche Grammophon presenting selections of Philip Glass's Piano Etudes. Ólafsson's fascination with reinterpreting the Piano Etudesgrew as he toured and performed the works with Glass himself. "On the surface, they seem to be filled with repetitions. But the more one plays and thinks about them, the more their narratives seem to travel along in a spiral," he explains. "My approach to each of the etudes is to enable the listener to create his or her own personal space of reflection." SEE THE FULL BroadwayWorld PAGE p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica; min-height: 12.0px}

On Saturday, June 22, the Peabody Essex Museum in East Indian Square, Salem An Evening with Philip Glass and Matt Haimovitz in a program includes a world premiere, Glass's Partita No. 2 for Solo Cello, which he wrote in 2010 but which has remained unperformed until this concert. The program will also include "Mad Rush," for solo piano, selections from "Tissues," and "The Orchard," from Glass's collaborative score (with Foday Musa Suso) to Jean Genet's play "The Screens." The partita is part of an upcoming recording of Glass's cello compositions, available soon on Orange Mountain music label, which is led by Salem resident Richard Guérin. Glass will perform on piano at the concert, and with Guérin and Haimovitz, will participate in a pre-concert discussion about his work and the new recording. The new partita sat for years, unplayed. It took a 2015 visit from Haimovitz to Glass's studio to unearth it. Haimovitz says it "was a crime against music" that the piece would sit for so long, and worked through the piece with the composer. Haimovitz says the partita has a similar series of movements like the Bach suites, but rather than dance titles (Bourée, Gigue), Glass has simply numbered the movements. "There is nothing descriptive in the score," Haimovitz says. "Glass is a kindred spirit with Baroque composers, who give very little interpretive direction to the performer." Glass will forever be linked to the minimalist style, but Haimovitz points out "Philip has moved into a neo-Romantic mode with his late chamber works. Audiences may be surprised. READ THE FULL Wicked Local Maynard ARTICLE p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial; min-height: 11.0px}

Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson pays tribute to the master of minimalism, Philip Glass, who turns 80 in 2017. Ólafsson was one of a handful of young pianists selected by Glass to perform all of his Études together in London, and the reviews were ecstatic. The Financial Times claimed, "Best of all was Ólafsson in the super-sensitive stillness of Étude 5." The Glass: Étude No 9 (2:32); Opening from Glassworks (6:39) on Víkingur Ólafsson new release - Philip Glass: Piano Works on Deutsche Grammophon is the WFMT: Chicago - Featured Release for TODAY!! FEBRUARY 18, 2017. p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica; min-height: 12.0px} span.s1 {text-decoration: underline}

p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica; min-height: 12.0px} span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre} Philip Glass turns 80 today and Second Inversion is celebrating in great style with a 24-hour streaming marathon of his music. Tune in all day! An early protagonist of the Minimalist movement, PG studied with Milhaud and Nadia Boulanger. His first job, assisting Ravi Shankar on a film soundtrack, heralded the start of his own successful cinema career, and to date he has scored over fifty movies. Early works tended to be abstract, but from the mid-1970s his attention shifted towards the stage. His first operatic triumph, Einstein on the Beach, did much to reinvigorate the international contemporary opera scene. Profoundly interested in traditional cultures, Glass often draws on Eastern traditions, as in Monsters of Grace (1997), a multimedia collaboration based on the writings of Rumi. To also celebrate, Víkingur Ólafsson's brand new, and debut album on Deutsche Grammophon, has the Icelandic pianist performing selections of Philip Glass's Piano Etudes. Ólafsson's fascination with reinterpreting the Piano Etudesgrew as he toured and performed the works with Glass himself. "On the surface, they seem to be filled with repetitions. But the more one plays and thinks about them, the more their narratives seem to travel along in a spiral," he explains. "My approach to each of the etudes is to enable the listener to create his or her own personal space of reflection."