Víkingur Ólafsson – Johann Sebastian Bach (2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

For his new Deutsche Grammophon album, Icelandic pianist Vkingur lafsson explores the wellspring of Johann Sebastian Bach’s keyboard music, delivering experimental, innovative and timeless performances: Vkingur lafsson is a musical free spirit with a mission. He first made the classical world sit up and listen in early 2017 with his recording of solo piano works by Philip Glass — a fascinating journey through the time and space of their minimalist structures. Glass is now followed by Bach. Set for release in September, lafsson’s second Deutsche Grammophon album, the pithily entitled Bach, contains a mixture of original works and transcriptions, which the pianist has woven together in intriguing style.

“It would all mean nothing without Bach,” says lafsson. “If Glass’s music is minimal, then Bach’s is maximal!” Having studied his music intensively, he here casts new light on some of the composer’s many different faces. Excerpts from the Well-Tempered Clavier such as the Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 855 or contrapuntal gems such as the Sinfonia No. 15 in B minor, BWV 801 showcase him as, in lafsson’s words, “the master of the short story”, while the larger-scale but playful Aria variata, BWV 989 forms the structural heart of the album. The original works are juxtaposed with colourful contributions from other composers, including Rachmaninov’s arrangement of the Gavotte from the Partita No. 3 for Violin in E major, BWV 1006; Busoni’s transcription of the chorale “Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ”; and lafsson’s own mesmerising transcription of the first aria from the solo cantata for alto “Widerstehe doch der Snde”. As his Glass album demonstrated, the pianist is an intelligent and innovative sculptor of sound, an artist who defies conventional categorisation and is redefining classical music. On Bach, the 34-year-old’s lean but immensely expressive playing captivates listeners, his eloquence and the sensuous delight he takes in experimentation holding them spellbound.

The infinitely inspirational power of Bach’s music will be heard again on lafsson’s next recording. Scheduled for release on Deutsche Grammophon in late 2018/early 2019, the album will bring together atmospheric reworkings of music by composers such as Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Ben Frost, Peter Gregson and Valgeir Sigursson — reimaginings that artfully defragment the creations of Bach. It will also feature a moving and intimate new work lafsson has written in memory of his late friend and colleague Jhann Jhannsson.

“Everything is there in Johann Sebastian’s music: architectural perfection and profound emotion,” says lafsson. In his hands, the universe that is Bach shines with new light.

Tracklist:
1-01. Víkingur Ólafsson – Prelude & Fughetta in G Major, BWV 902 – 1. Prelude (03:26)
1-02. Víkingur Ólafsson – Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein, Chorale Prelude BWV 734 (Transcr. Wilhelm Kempff) (01:51)
1-03. Víkingur Ólafsson – Prelude & Fugue in E Minor (Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, No. 10), BWV 855 – 1. Prelude (02:03)
1-04. Víkingur Ólafsson – Prelude & Fugue in E Minor (Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, No. 10), BWV 855 – 2. Fugue (01:16)
1-05. Víkingur Ólafsson – Organ Sonata No. 4, BWV 528 – 2. Andante [Adagio] (Transcr. by August Stradal) (05:26)
1-06. Víkingur Ólafsson – Prelude & Fugue in D Major (Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, No. 5), BWV 850 – 1. Prelude (01:02)
1-07. Víkingur Ólafsson – Prelude & Fugue in D Major (Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, No. 5), BWV 850 – 2. Fugue (01:45)
1-08. Víkingur Ólafsson – Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, Chorale Prelude BWV 659 (Transcr. by Ferruccio Busoni) (05:04)
1-09. Víkingur Ólafsson – Prelude & Fugue in C Minor (Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, No. 2), BWV 847 – 1. Prelude (01:24)
1-10. Víkingur Ólafsson – Prelude & Fugue in C Minor (Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, No. 2), BWV 847 – 2. Fugue (01:38)
1-11. Víkingur Ólafsson – Widerstehe doch der Sunde, BWV 54 (Transcr. by Vikingur Olafsson) (04:26)
1-12. Víkingur Ólafsson – Aria variata (alla maniera italiana) in A Minor, BWV 989 – Aria (01:50)
1-13. Víkingur Ólafsson – Aria variata (alla maniera italiana) in A Minor, BWV 989 – Variation I. Largo (01:09)
1-14. Víkingur Ólafsson – Aria variata (alla maniera italiana) in A Minor, BWV 989 – Variation II (00:55)
1-15. Víkingur Ólafsson – Aria variata (alla maniera italiana) in A Minor, BWV 989 – Variation III (00:55)
1-16. Víkingur Ólafsson – Aria variata (alla maniera italiana) in A Minor, BWV 989 – Variation IV. Allegro (00:55)
1-17. Víkingur Ólafsson – Aria variata (alla maniera italiana) in A Minor, BWV 989 – Variation V. Un poco allegro (00:59)
1-18. Víkingur Ólafsson – Aria variata (alla maniera italiana) in A Minor, BWV 989 – Variation VI. Andante (02:06)
1-19. Víkingur Ólafsson – Aria variata (alla maniera italiana) in A Minor, BWV 989 – Variation VII. Un poco allegro (00:47)
1-20. Víkingur Ólafsson – Aria variata (alla maniera italiana) in A Minor, BWV 989 – Variation VIII. Allegro (00:49)
1-21. Víkingur Ólafsson – Aria variata (alla maniera italiana) in A Minor, BWV 989 – Variation IX (01:08)
1-22. Víkingur Ólafsson – Aria variata (alla maniera italiana) in A Minor, BWV 989 – Variation X (01:46)
1-23. Víkingur Ólafsson – Aria variata (alla maniera italiana) in A Minor, BWV 989 – Aria da capo (01:18)
1-24. Víkingur Ólafsson – Invention No. 12 in A Major, BWV 783 (01:19)
1-25. Víkingur Ólafsson – Sinfonia No. 12 in A Major, BWV 798 (01:23)
1-26. Víkingur Ólafsson – Suite from the Partita No.3 in E Major for Solo Violin, BWV 1006 – 2. Gavotte (Transcr. by Sergey Rachmaninov) (02:48)
1-27. Víkingur Ólafsson – Prelude & Fugue, BWV 855a – 1. Prelude No. 10 in B Minor (Transcr. by Alexander Siloti) (03:00)
1-28. Víkingur Ólafsson – Sinfonia No. 15 in B Minor, BWV 801 (01:19)
1-29. Víkingur Ólafsson – Invention No. 15 in B Minor, BWV 786 (01:11)
1-30. Víkingur Ólafsson – Concerto in D Minor, BWV 974 – 1. Andante (02:17)
1-31. Víkingur Ólafsson – Concerto in D Minor, BWV 974 – 2. Adagio (04:10)
1-32. Víkingur Ólafsson – Concerto in D Minor, BWV 974 – 3. Presto (03:31)
1-33. Víkingur Ólafsson – Ich ruf zu dir Herr Jesu Christ, Chorale Prelude BWV 639 (Transcr. by Ferruccio Busoni) (03:08)
1-34. Víkingur Ólafsson – Fantasia & Fugue in A Minor, BWV 904 – 1. Fantasia (03:54)
1-35. Víkingur Ólafsson – Fantasia & Fugue in A Minor, BWV 904 – 2. Fugue (05:14)