Continuum II: Víkingur Ólafsson's Intimate Bach Diary
For Víkingur Ólafsson‚ Johann Sebastian Bach is not a closed chapter of music history but a daily presence. For more than three decades the Icelandic pianist has sat down at the instrument day after day to play a little Bach, a habit he describes as the one constant fixed point of his life. From this continuing dialogue now grows Continuum II, the second chapter of a project whose very title carries its programme within it: in German the word Bach means a flowing stream, and it is precisely as such an unbroken current that Ólafsson understands the music of the Leipzig Thomaskantor, as an invisible thread linking eras, people and experiences.
The new album is released on 6 November 2026 by Deutsche Grammophon and follows directly on from the first Continuum of October 2024. Unlike its predecessor, it was created entirely in a single, very personal place: The Nutshell, the pianist’s new home studio in Iceland. The character of this retreat runs through the entire recording, which Ólafsson himself regards as his first true “album domesticum”, an album of domestic, quiet, inward-looking music in which Bach appears at his most intimate and personal.
The Album: Chorales, Transcriptions and the Art of the Miniature on Continuum II
At the heart of Continuum II are six chorales that Ólafsson interprets on the piano, among them “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern”, BWV 436, “Welt, ade!”, BWV 27/VI, and “Es ist genug”, BWV 60/V. For the pianist, these originally vocal and liturgical settings reveal a new sonic form on the piano, especially in the fragile, almost whispering timbre of the upright piano. This sacred core is complemented by the early chorale prelude “Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott”, which the producer Christopher Tarnow suggested for the recording. Bach wrote this piece in his youth, and its unpredictable harmonic development and lamenting character feel like an anticipation of the expressive world of the Romantic Lied.
A central work in the programme is Ólafsson’s own arrangement of the famous Air from the Orchestral Suite No. 3, widely known as “Air on the G String”. The pianist recorded it in two versions, on the concert grand and on the upright, and dedicated his arrangement to the composer György Kurtág on his 100th birthday. Added to these are the Largo from the Harpsichord Concerto No. 5 in F minor, an expanded, chamber-music reading of the Adagio from the Violin Sonata No. 5 in F minor scored for piano, string quartet and double bass, recorded with the Siggi String Quartet and double bassist Xun Yang, as well as the Larghetto from the Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D major, BWV 972, which Bach himself had arranged after a model by Antonio Vivaldi. The anthology is rounded off by six little preludes that Bach once wrote as exercise pieces for his pupils and his own children: miniatures whose outward brevity conceals an astonishing musical depth.
The Performer: Víkingur Ólafsson
Víkingur Ólafsson, born on 14 February 1984 in Reykjavík, is one of the most sought-after pianists of our time. His world tour with Bach’s Goldberg Variations, which he performed on countless stages, culminated in a widely acclaimed recording that earned him his first GRAMMY Award®. His recordings have been streamed more than one billion times worldwide, around half of them on Bach repertoire, underlining his special standing as an interpreter of this music.
At Deutsche Grammophon, Ólafsson has shaped an unmistakable profile over the years, from his engagement with Philip Glass through Debussy and Rameau, Mozart and his contemporaries, to the introspective albums From Afar, the Goldberg Variations and most recently Opus 109. Continuum II fits into this body of work as a logical continuation while deepening the pianist’s very own, diary-like approach to Bach.
Formats and Availability
Continuum II is released on 6 November 2026 by Deutsche Grammophon in digital form, on CD and on vinyl. As a foretaste of the album, two singles are already available to stream: Ólafsson’s grand-piano version of the “Air on the G String” (since 17 July 2026) and the Larghetto from the Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D major, BWV 972 (since 14 August 2026).
Collectors and listeners who wish to experience the complete arc of this intimate Bach portrait can therefore look forward to an album that turns the silence of the studio into living, resonant sound.
Experience the Continuation, Continuum II, at Last!
Discover Continuum II now at Deutsche Grammophon and save the date for 6 November 2026. You will find all of the pianist’s recordings and physical editions in the DG Store, with further background on his artist page.
Ólafsson’s celebrated Goldberg Variations with the light installation by Olafur Eliasson are also available as a stream on STAGE+!
