Philip Glass Tribute

Vikingur Olafsson is currently not only one of the best pianists in the world, but the best since Kristian Zimerman, with the only possible exception of Paul Lewis (just about to release a complete Schubert sonatas - we cannot wait) and perhaps Evgeni Kissin. True - that's a bold statement but I will defy anyone to challenge it, after listening to the corpus of Olafsson recordings, staring for these renditions of the best of Phillip Glass.Still in his thirties, Olafsson exploded in 2018 / 19 with two Bach CDs that were at the same time personal and academic. The accolades were raving and unanimous (and sometimes exaggerated: in America he was labeled as the New Glenn Gould). Yet he carried on with restrain and superb good taste - and issued two very good collections of less-known piano pieces: "Reflections" and "From Afar", that elevated to the status of a pop star, initially in his native Iceland and then everywhere via the BBC Classic magazine prizes; and deservedly so. His very recent Goldberg Variations, and the long tour playing it in full to packed houses, is the last evidence, if anyone needed one, of the fact that a true star in the classical world was born.The Philip Glass tribute is excellent for every possible reason, starting for the effort to put Glass where he belongs: at the top of the XX century classical composers and introducing "Glassworks" and Glass'Etudes in the canon. The album is a delight from beginning to end - with the small "but" of not including at least one track of one of Mr Glass best works (and one of the best soundtracks of the last 50 years): "The Hours". But that's moot and this is a joyful CD that will (certainly should) make many converts to both Philip Glass music and the great piano performances.With decades ahead of him, Vikingur Olafsson will, no doubt, still record much and will also surprise us, and I dare and say that several times over. That's only good news.Lastly, a word of caution about this "Philip Glass Tribute". Play it at your own risk, because it's addictive.

I am a bit of a Glass geek and also into solo piano stuff. So, this relatively cheaply priced CD caught my attention and I am glad it did!Some most wonderful playing here. Just a pure pleasure to listen to this again and again.The only thing I would say is that the acoustic is a little wet and the clarity is lost a bit because of this....but only a tiny, tiny bit! In a way I got used to that and kind of like it as the music can take this. Mentioned just in case that is of relevance to anyone else.I might just track down some more recordings on this pianist.(PS- comes in a thin cardboard sleeve only, not a problem for me, but again might be for others)

Having heard a few of these Etudes played as encores (for example by Yuja Wang), I thought it would be worth exploring this material in greater detail.Olafsson is a pianist who is always worth hearing - what he succeeds in doing here is to explore the depth and many facets of each of these short works, and thereby adds so much more than the rather surface-like approach of some other pianists.Glass's Etudes work on many levels and they really re-pay repeated listening when played with as much insight as Olafsson brings to this recording.Highly recommended.

Excellent performanceVery moving

Beautiful album. Perfect condition.

We listen to Philip Glass' etudes exquisitely performed by the Icelandic pianist, Vikingur Olafsson.The minimalist etudes are delicate, ethereal pieces combining a certain repetition with variation which with the passage of time gives you the feeling of a spiral; while they have a family resemblance still each has its own individuality with, among other, a distinct pace and pitch.Two pieces were performed both as solo piano and as arrangements with piano and string accompaniment; in both instances I enjoyed more the arrangements possibly because of their richer character and color.However, I judged as best the concluding Etude No.20 which is by far the most ethereal and as Olafsson observes 'the music seems to defy gravity, floating from one tonality into another, gorgeous melodies appearing out of nowhere, only to disappear into the void.'

I think this is the best recording of the Piano Etudes. A joy to listen to!

Olafsson truly scales the heights here, bringing out the meditative joy, beauty, acceptance and transcendence as appropriate to each of these pieces. He doesn't give us all of Glass's 20 etudes, only ten of them on one very full cd, with additional gorgeous performances of Glassworks (one of my favourite Glass pieces) and beautifully interpreted versions with piano and string quartet of both Glassworks and Etudes No 2. I really hope that he soon allows us to enjoy his interpretations of the other ten etudes (and a recording by him of the piano version of The Hours also wouldn't go amiss). I have complete sets of the Etudes by Namekawa, Whitwell, Lin and Batagov, and I wouldn't be without any of them. These artists all give their own unique and excellent interpretations of Glass's etudes, which are some of his finest works, but Olafsson lifts these to an even higher level. Highly recommended.