Bach / Víkingur Ólafsson
Goldberg Variations
Rare & Collectible Vinyl Records

Sealed 2023 2LP gatefold original from Deutsche Grammophon. Includes a folded sheet with photograph and text, both in English and German by Víkingur Ólafsson. "Recordings by Vikingur Ólafsson are eagerly awaited these days, and this one went right onto the classical best-seller charts in the autumn of 2023. Those who took it home will not be disappointed. Ólafsson has been compared with Glenn Gould. He reportedly doesn't buy the comparison, and one can see why; his individual interpretation choices are quite different from Gould's. Yet, one can see how the idea arose. Ólafsson has a subjective approach that reminds one of the great Canadian, and he mixes it with a steely devotion to uncovering all the details of the Bachian counterpoint. The brilliant virtuosity Ólafsson has brought to Romantic music is very much in evidence here, and although this isn't a "Romantic" interpretation (he is light on the pedals, for one thing), the variations build in power in a way that makes one think of golden-age pianism. Sample several different variations, perhaps the cascading Variation 6 and Variation 30, with its amazing variety of pianistic attacks. Deutsche Grammophon's engineers do well in a small hall at Reykjavi's Harpa Concert House, and none of the profound levels of detail in Ólafsson's playing are lost. Yet, for all the detail, this is a performance that will sweep the listener away." All Music Guide - James Manheim