Vikingur Ólafsson

I first discovered Vikingur Ólafsson at Tower Records in Shibuya.

His recording of Philip Glass's Glassworks for Deutsche Grammophon captured my interest and I took it home to listen.

From there, I can say that I have been waiting for more from the Icelandic pianist.

First came Chopin.

Then Mozart.

Then Bach re-works. (These arrangements for digital instruments aren't all my cup of tea, but some hit.)

Ólafsson just keeps going and his expressive interpretations have earned him the nickname "Iceland's Glenn Gould".

Ólafsson has bachelors and masters degrees from the Juilliard School and - fun fact - has both absolute pitch and synesthesia, associating pitches with colors.

Apple Music Classical has an excellent playlist called Vikingur Ólafsson Essentials, that you can listen to here.