
Víkingur Ólafsson plays Bach & Beethoven
BACH TO BACHVíkingur Ólafsson plays Bach & Beethoven
BACH TO BACH
Grammy Award-winning pianist Víkingur Ólafsson performs Bach keyboard pieces and Beethoven sonatas.
Grammy Award-winning pianist Víkingur Ólafsson has described Johann Sebastian Bach as ‘the musical love of my life’. His dedication to the composer’s works led him to embark on an epic tour in 2023, performing Bach’s Goldberg Variations almost 100 times.
Now, he intersperses a selection of Johann Sebastian Bach’s keyboard compositions with music by Bach's admirer Ludwig van Beethoven. The Bach works he’s chosen include the expansive Partita BWV 830, inspired by French and Italian dances.
Beethoven is represented by two of his late, great sonatas. Opus 90 is alternately fiery and reflective, while Opus 109 features one of Beethoven’s greatest finales: six variations on an exquisite song-like theme. Ólafsson’s recording of this sonata was recently described by The Guardian as ‘one of the most purely beautiful accounts on record’.
Ólafsson opens up a transcendent vista on to a brave new world
Bach to Bach Multibuy
Spend the day celebrating the work of Johann Sebastian Bach. A 20% discount applies when you buy tickets for both concerts (Alisa Weilerstein plays The Cello Suites and Vikingur Olafsson plays Bach & Beethoven). Excludes top-price tickets and concessions.
Supported by Scobie Dickinson Ward
Programme
Full programme
J S Bach Prelude in E, BWV 854 from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Volume 1
Beethoven Sonata in E minor, Op.90
J S Bach Partita No.6 in E minor, BWV 830
Schubert Sonata in E minor, D566
Beethoven Sonata in E, Op.109
Bach (arr. Víkingur Ólafsson) Air on the G String
ENCORE
Bach (arr. August Stradal) Organ Sonata No. 4, 2nd mvt
ENCORE
Performer
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- Víkingur ÓlafssonPiano
Dive Deeper
Listen to The Warm Up: your audio introduction to the performance.
