Víkingur Ólafsson in Recital

Bach, Beethoven, and Schubert

📍 This event takes place at Powell Hall

🕒 1 hour, 20 minutes (no intermission)

Thursday, Mar 26, 2026, 7:30pm This event has passed

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Program

Víkingur Ólafsson, piano

J.S. Bach Prelude in E major, BWV 854
Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, op. 90
J.S. Bach Partita No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830
Franz Schubert Piano Sonata in E minor, D. 566
Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, op. 109

About this Concert

In pianist Víkingur Ólafsson’s hands, composers of the 18th and 19th centuries sound brand new. Beethoven’s Sonata No. 30, one of the composer’s most demanding, anchors a recital of music by the three classical music titans: Bach, Beethoven, and Schubert. Ólafsson, whose heartfelt interpretations and commitment to recordings have garnered one billion streams, returns to St. Louis for the first time since the start of the SLSO’s 2023 European tour to share this intensely personal program.

This program does not have an intermission.

- Beethoven experienced huge success with his Piano Sonata No. 29—a massive work known as the “Hammerklavier” Sonata. In his Piano Sonata No. 30, which anchors this program, Beethoven returned to a freer form and more intimate expression that explores a vast range of moods.
- Ólafsson has quickly become a treasured collaborator of SLSO Music Director Stéphane Denève. He made his SLSO debut in November 2021, then toured with the orchestra to Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain in March 2023, performing Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto. The pair have also shared performances at the New York Philharmonic and with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra of Sweden.
- In a bold move, Ólafsson took a recital of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations on tour for 88 performances throughout his 2023/24 season. “When I play Bach, I am reminded that historical eras in music are notions we superimpose on what is essentially a continuum: an unbroken thread linking us all, a running stream flowing through us,” he said.