Damian Thompson Damian Thompson

‘Some pianists make me shake with anger’: Vikingur Olafsson interviewed

The cult pianist explains the secret to his pianissimos, his love of metronomes and why he is no cheat

‘The soft palette that lies somewhere between triple piano and pianissimo is where the magic is’: Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafsson. Credit: Markus Jans 
issue 05 October 2024

At the BBC Proms this year, an Icelandic pianist dressed like a Wall Street broker played a slow movement from a Bach organ sonata that had the audience first gasping and then stamping their feet. This was an encore to a performance of the Schumann Piano Concerto that neither milked the poetry nor romped thrillingly through the finale – and that, too, nearly had the Prommers throwing their underwear at the shy soloist.

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