News and Events
Icelandic pianist Víkingur H. Ólafsson to tour Canada
Of course, Vikings have a reputation for roaming the world, gathering the best from every country, and Vikingur Olafsson maintains the tradition. This talented 23-year-old Icelandic concert pianist has teamed up with 22-year-old Toronto-born Armenian-Canadian cellist, Karen Ouzounian, for a two-week tour of North America organized by the International Visits Program of the Icelandic National League. Both Vikingur and Karen are in Masters programs at Juilliard School of Music in New York.
The tour brings the award-winning young musicians to smaller centres as well as to cities across Canada and the northern United States. The duo will perform at 10 venues beginning April 10. In May, Vikingur will do a solo concert in Ottawa.
The INL of North America, established in 1918 with a head office in Gimli MB, plays a leading role in supporting an appreciation of literature and culture among people of Icelandic descent in North America. The International Visits Program facilitates exchange visits between Iceland and North America. The upcoming concert tour is intended to showcase Icelandic and Canadian talent to music lovers of all backgrounds.
Vikingur made his debut with the Icelandic Symphony orchestra when he was 16. He has given solo recitals in Iceland, Spain, France and the USA. After graduating from the Reykjavik College of Music he moved to Juilliard in 2002. A dedicated collaborator, he has worked closely with Karen for many years.
Karen, whose Bachelor of Music is from Juilliard, has also studied in Britain, Holland, Italy, and in Banff and Orford in Canada. She has performed across North America and Europe and will join the East Coast Chamber Orchestra for its 2007 season.
Talent and hard work brings its own reward, but both Vikingur and Karen have been internationally recognized. A scholarship student at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Karen received Juilliard’s Grunin Prize and Presidential Distinction Award. In 2004, Vikingur won both the Icelandic Music Awards as “Iceland’s Brightest Prospect in Classical Music” and the American-Scandinavian Society Cultural Grant In 2006, he won the Carl Roeder prize in piano from Juilliard.
The duo will perform a repertoire of classical and Icelandic music, including that of composers Kaldalóns, Nordal, Debussy, Chopin, Ligeti, and Beethoven.
The tour includes: Tues. April 10 St.Paul, Minnesota, Wed. April 11 Winnipeg,Thurs. April 12 Gimli, Sat. April 14 Foam Lake, Sun. April 15 Calgary, Mon. April 16 Edmonton, Tues. April 17 Seattle, Thurs. April 19 Vancouver, Sat. April 21 London, Sun. April 22 Toronto.
Víkingur's solo piano recitals are scheduled for May 2 in Ottawa and May 5 in Montreal.
