Víkingur Ólafsson's Most Enigmatic and Profound Bach Album Yet
Continuum II is one of several excellent albums on which Víkingur Ólafsson performs the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and it is the most enigmatic and profound album he has released so far.
I was compelled to listen more than once to even the most familiar pieces, such as the Air on the G String and the Largo from the Keyboard Concerto No. 5 in F minor. Ólafsson certainly performs Bach like no other, exposing the full depth and beauty of Bach's music, as well as its mystery. I was left with more questions than answers after listening to this album.
As always, Ólafsson uses the pauses between the notes to help us feel the depth of each note. Although he is a true virtuoso, he chooses to play some of the pieces quite slowly, accentuating every note and making use of the silence between the notes. Perhaps these spaces between the notes are just as important as the notes themselves.
I heard Ólafsson play the Air on the G String as an encore at a concert a while ago. That performance of this piece was more moving, but also less philosophical, than the two versions he plays on this album. Both versions are worth hearing more than once. But I encourage you first to listen to the entire album from start to finish, because the order of pieces is important and is very well designed.
I highly recommend this album to anyone who loves classical music, and certainly to every fan of Bach or Ólafsson. It is not to be missed, and it is destined to become another Ólafsson classic.
See also:
The album is out now: Johann Sebastian Bach, Víkingur Ólafsson: Continuum II: https://dg.lnk.to/Continuum2
Víkingur Ólafsson: https://www.vikingurolafsson.com/
