Víkingur Ólafsson (born 14 February 1984) is an Icelandic pianist.

Víkingur Ólafsson (born 14 February 1984) is an Icelandic pianist.

Composer and performer Joep Beving, one of the most listened-to living pianists in the world, is joining Deutsche Grammophon to release his new album ‘Prehension’ on 7th April.
Dutch musician Joep (pronounced ‘Yoop’) is a towering figure in the streaming world – and in real life too, thanks to his two-metre frame (nearly 6’10), wild hair and flowing beard. He has become a one-man success story – writing, recording and releasing his debut album ‘Solipsism’ (now available digitally on DG) which has been streamed nearly 60 million times.
Joep’s delicate melodies instantly struck a chord with listeners when tracks from the album first appeared on streaming music playlists alongside the likes of Max Richter, Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm.
“I call it ‘simple music for complex emotions’,” says Joep, summing up its universal appeal. “The world is a hectic place right now and I feel a deep urge to reconnect on a basic human level with people in general. Music as our universal language has the power to unite.”
Each track on ‘Solipsism’ was recorded at dead of night in the kitchen of his home in Amsterdam, while his partner and two young daughters slept, played on the German piano he had been left by his late grandmother.
Finally the music reached the ears of DG when a friend of Joep’s played the album in her local bar in Berlin – where one of the label’s executives happened to be – and ended up in a signing with the world’s foremost classical label.
The first fruits of the new partnership are ‘Prehension’. A natural successor to ‘Solipsism,’ it carries forward the musical and philosophical themes Joep identifies in his music. Understated, haunting and melancholic, its delicate melodies will help soothe the soul.

The brand new album from Max Richter DGs best-selling artist/composer with music crafted from 2015s outstanding ballet production Woolf Works, a critically-acclaimed ballet triptych by choreographer Wayne McGregor, inspired by the life and works of English novelist Virginia Woolf.
Featuring powerful, compelling, emotional music, encompassing electronic textures and soundscapes, as well as orchestral episodes.
Following the success of SLEEP, this album showcases different sides of Max Richters vast palette of sounds, including upbeat, Arpeggiator pieces
Three Worlds: Music from Woolf Works shows Maxs passion for both lavish string and piano melodies, but also his virtuoso electronic side.
The first track on the album features spoken words by Virginia Woolf herself, reading the essay Craftsmanship from a BBC recording of 1937.
The original ballet was met with outstanding critical acclaim on its premiere in 2015, winning the Critics Circle Award for Best Classical Choreography and the Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production.
The Observer described it as a compellingly moving experience; for The Independent it glows with ambition... a brave, thoughtful work; The Guardian called it a haunting meditation on memory, madness and time and lavishly atmospheric score.
Each of the three acts springs from one of Woolfs landmark novels: Mrs Dalloway, Orlando and The Waves enmeshed with elements from her letters, essays and diaries.
What a brilliant creative human being Virginia Woolf was. Its been extraordinary to have the chance to be submerged in the matters that troubled her, the questions she wrestled with and the visionary quality of the answers she discovered Max Richter

冰岛新的年轻天才，很有涵养的Olafur Arnalds 能把古典元素融合在氛围和微电子节拍里，有Sigur Ros的味道，也有Mum的感觉。
Olafur Arnalds原来在家乡Mosfellsbaer离雷克雅维克偏壤的一个小镇上，他同时身兼多支Hardcore乐队的鼓手职务，先是替友人的乐团My Summer as a Salvation Soldier担任多项乐器伴奏，还获邀为美国Indie-Rock乐团Cursive担任德国巡回演出的伴奏乐手。Olafur Arnalds的个人音乐作品以钢琴和弦乐为主， 与其说是post-rock， 不如干脆说是modern classical。

Myspace:

Ashram
"Shining Silver Skies"
Digipak CD 2006
Equilibrium Music - EQM010
review by:
TekNoir
2006-05-15
Ashram is back after some 4 years with a splendid second album. Shining Silver Skies contains very delicate and beautiful neoclassical music. This music is the ultimate way to get totally relaxed and to enjoy intensively in a way in which everything seems to be very light. In weight, in colour and in sound. The music has just about the exact right balance between light atmospheres and deep emotions without getting all pathetic or bombastic. The ingeniously thought-out and very versatile piano sounds by Luigi Rubino create the base over which the violin of Edo Notarloberti plays it’s arrangements. There can sometimes also be heard a chello sound which adds the necessary depth to the compositions. The whole picture regarding this pure music with a slightly nostalgic character is made complete by the wonderful, sometimes almost crooning, vocals of Sergio Panarella. Sergio’s voice is melodic and has a certain degree of accessibility that borders the popular and which ensures that the music doesn’t come across as too heavy or pompuous yet deliciously balances on that fine thin line. This is truly exceptionally good.