Víkingur Ólafsson © Ari Magg

Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson has captured the public and critical imagination with profound musicianship and visionary programmes. One of the most sought-after artists of today, Ólafsson’s recordings for Deutsche Grammophon have led to almost one billion streams and garnered numerous awards, including BBC Music Magazine Album of the Year and Opus Klassik Solo Recording of the Year (twice). Other notable honours include Rolf Schock Music Prize, Gramophone’s Artist of the Year, Order of the Falcon (Iceland’s order of chivalry) as well as the Icelandic Export Award, given by the president of Iceland.

In a landmark move, Ólafsson devoted his entire 2023/24 season to a world tour of a single work: J.S.Bach’s Goldberg Variations, performing it 88 times to great critical acclaim. The 2024/25 season will see Ólafsson as Artist-in-Residence with Tonhalle Zürich and Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, as well as Artist-in-Focus at Vienna Musikverein. He will tour in Europe with The Cleveland Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, perform with the Berliner Philharmoniker at the BBC Proms and return to the New York Philharmonic. He joins forces with Yuja Wang for a highly anticipated two piano recital tour across Europe and North America and, in January 2025, will give the world premiere of John Adams’ “After the Fall”with San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, a piano concerto written especially for him. In spring 2025, Ólafsson will perform his new piano recital, the last three sonatas of Beethoven on multiple dates across the US and Europe.

SEASON 2024/2025 - THIS BIOGRAPHY IS AVAILABLE BY COURTESY OF HARRISON PARROTT

Pablo Ferrández © Kirill Bashkirov

Prizewinner at the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition and SONY Classical exclusive artist, Pablo Ferrández is hailed as a “new cello genius” (Le Figaro). A captivating performer, “Ferrández has the lot:technique, mettle, spirit, authority as a soloist, expressivity and charm” (El Pais). Introduced by the Pittsburgh Symphony as “the next Yo-Yo Ma”, Pablo Ferrández has turned into a cello phenomenon and one of the most in-demand instrumentalists of his generation.

His debut album under SONY Classical, “Reflections”, released in 2021, was highly acclaimed by the critics and praised with the Opus Klassik Award. In Fall 2022 Pablo Ferrández released his second album, which comprised the Brahms Double Concerto, performed with Anne-Sophie Mutter, the Czech Philharmonic under M. Honeck, as well as Clara Schumann’s Piano Trio, performed with Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis, also receiving rave reviews.

Pablo’s recent seasons have seen him appearing with the Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Tonhalle Orchestra, Bayersichen Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, HR-Sinfonieorchester, Konzerthaus Berlin Orchestra, NDR Elbphiharmonie Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Orchestra National de France, Israel Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic and Seoul Philharmonic. He has also toured with the London Philharmonic, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Antwerp Symphony and the Czech Philharmonic under S. Bychkov. Ferrández is frequently invited to international renown festivals such as Verbier, Salzburg, Dresden, Sion, Tsinandali, Abu Dhabi and Dvorak Prague Festival, among others.

The 24/25 season brings the returns to Munich Philharmonic, Bamberg Symphony, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, London Philharmonic, Spanish National Orchestra, KBS Symphony, and Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, where he will play Brahms Double Concerto alongside Anne-Sophie Mutter & K. Yamada. Pablo will also debut in that season with NDR Radiophilharmonie Orchester, Belgian National Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, North Carolina Orchestra and will be Artist-in Residence at the Tongyeong International Music Festival in S. Korea. Additionally, Ferrández will tour with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Borusan Philharmonic, and with the WDR Sinfonieorchester under A. Orozco-Estrada in Spain.

Pablo will appear in trio alongside Anne-Sophie Mutter and Martha Argerich at Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, with Ms. Mutter and Yefim Bronfman on tour in the United States, with Janine Jansen and Denis Kozhukhin at Vienna Musikverien and Kamermuziek Festival Utrecht, and as recitalist in New York, Baltimore, Milan, Florence, Bilbao, Laufen, Munster, as well in the Aix-en-Provence, Sion, Peralada, Verbier and Abu Dhabi Festivals.

Mr. Ferrández plays the Stradivarius “Archinto” 1689, on a generous life-long loan from a member of the Stretton Society.

SEASON 2024/2025 - THIS BIOGRAPHY IS AVAILABLE BY COURTESY OF CAMI MUSIC LLC.