-->
  • Most Respected Classical Music Platform
  • #classicalForever
BREAKING
Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter to Step Down
TOP
Víkingur Ólafsson to Perform World Premiere of Piano Concerto - image attachment
Víkingur Ólafsson (Photo credit: Ari Magg)

Víkingur Ólafsson to Perform World Premiere of Piano Concerto

Postponed due to the pandemic, the Icelandic pianist will finally be able to perform Finnish composer Sauli Zinovjev’s first piano concerto this week

 

Written in 2019 for Ólafsson, Sauli Zinovjev’s Piano Concerto was initially to premiere in April 2020 alongside the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (FRSO) and conductor Klaus Mäkelä.

Due to COVID-19 measures, instead of a live audience at the Helsinki Music Center, the long-awaited piano concerto along with Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 will be available from January 7, 2022, on Finnish streaming service Yle Areena.

 

 

Víkingur Ólafsson and Zinovjev began talking about the piece in 2017 and Ólafsson looked forward to this performance more every year after its cancellations.

“I think I care more and more for the piece because of how long we’ve had to wait, and it has built up this anticipation in me to go onstage and play it,” Ólafsson reflected in an interview. “I feel like this piece is still being born even if it was written such a long time ago.”

“It’s a poem, this piece, it’s not the kind of old school concerto you might expect,” Ólafsson continued. “The first and second movements are both extremely dark and introspective and they are very much sometimes like a monolog, a monolog supported by all these incredible orchestral colors.” 

For more information and to watch the concert, click here.

An interview with Ólafsson about his upcoming world premiere performance can be watched below. 

 

 

In 2019, Ólafsson won Gramophone magazine’s Artist of the Year, the Opus Klassik Solo Recording Instrumental twice, and BBC Music Magazine Awards’ Album of the Year. In addition, he has recorded several albums with the Deutsche Grammophon label. 

A graduate of the Sibelius Academy and Hochschule fur Musik Karlsruhe, composer Zinovjev studied with Tapio Nevanlinna and Wolfgang Rihm. In 2021, he received an exclusive worldwide publishing agreement with HarrisonParrot’s Birdsong Music Publishing.

upcoming events

february 2025

07febAll Day17International "Franz Schubert and Modern Music” Chamber Music Competition(All Day) Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Graz, Leonhardstraße 15, A-8010 GrazEvent Type :competitions Event TagsInternational "Franz Schubert and Modern Music” Piano Trio Competition

14febAll Day22Jascha Heifetz International Violin Competition(All Day) Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall, Aušros Vartų g. 5 Vilnius, LithuaniaEvent Type :competitions Event TagsInternational Jascha Heifetz Competition for Violinists

16febAll DayChicago National Chamber Music Competition(All Day: sunday) Ravinia’s Bennett Gordon Hall, 201 St Johns Ave, Highland Park, IL 60035, United StatesEvent Type :competitions Event Tagschamber music,competition

march 2025

15marAll DayMusic Teachers National Association (MTNA) National Conference(All Day: saturday) Hilton Minneapolis, 1001 Marquette Ave. Event Type :conferences & tradeshows Event Tagschamber music,Chamber Music America,Conferences,Music Teachers National Association National Conference

18marAll DayJohansen International String Competition(All Day: tuesday) Calvary Baptist Church, 755 8th Street, NW, Washington, DCEvent Type :competitions

19marAll DayAmerican String Teachers Association (ASTA) National Conference(All Day: wednesday) HYATT REGENCY ATLANTA, 265 Peachtree St Event Type :conferences & tradeshows Event TagsAmerican String Teachers Association,American String Teachers Association National Conference,ASTA,conference

CONTACT US
x

Get ALL our latest conveniently by EMAIL

Our newsletter is trusted by over 100,000+ industry professionals around the world

We deliver news straight to your inbox and will never share your data.
You'll never miss a beat!

click left click right