Víkingur Ólafsson's infinite variety, and remembering Maurizio Pollini The Music Show

Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson is most of the way through an international tour that sees him playing Bach’s Goldberg Variations almost a hundred times, including his first ever performances in Australia. He joins Andy in the studio, in front of the piano, to talk about finding infinite variety in those Variations.

We remember the late pianist Maurizio Pollini who died this week. “With Pollini things were never simple,” says Víkingur Ólafsson, “Chopin became the musical architect, Stockhausen the poet, Beethoven the philosopher. Many of us became better listeners and players.”

Plus new music from Aussie singer-songwriter Emily Barker.




Music heard in the show:

Title: Goldberg Variations BWV988: Var. 1
Artist: Víkingur Ólafsson
Composer: J.S. Bach
Album: Bach: Goldberg Variations
Label: Deutsche Grammophon 4864553

Title: … sofferte onde serene…
Artist: Maurizio Pollini
Composer: Luigi Nono
Album: Maurizio Pollini: 20th Century
Label: Deutsche Grammophon 4779918

Title: Boulez: Piano Sonata No. 2
Artist: Maurizio Pollini
Composer: Pierre Boulez
Album: Maurizio Pollini plays Prokofiev, Boulez, Webern and Stravinsky
Label: Deutsche Grammophon 4192022

Title: Preludes Op. 28; No. 24, Prelude in D Minor, Allegro Appassionato
Artist: Maurizio Pollini
Composer: Frédéric Chopin
Album: Maurizio Pollini: Chopin
Label: Deutsche Grammophon 4779908

Title: Goldberg Variations BWV988: Aria; extracts from other movements
Artist: Víkingur Ólafsson
Composer: J.S. Bach
Performed live in studio

Title: The Quiet Ways
Artist: Emily Barker
Album: Fragile As Humans (out 3 May)
Label: Independent release

Technical production by Virginia Read and John Jacobs

The Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country