“Orbiting Around Opus 109” – Víkingur Ólafsson Explores a Late Masterpiece by Beethoven for his latest album
The Icelandic pianist creates a dialogue across the centuries
in a solo programme around Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 30, Op. 109
He reveals the influences that run between J.S. Bach, Beethoven and Schubert
Watch the new music video here
Watch the new documentary on the making of Opus 109, now on Stage+
Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson’s anticipated new album on Deutsche Grammophon: Opus 109 - Beethoven · Bach · Schubert is out today (21 November 2025). At its heart is Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109 – a masterpiece of the composer’s late period – which Ólafsson places in an illuminating and thrilling temporal dialogue, tracing the musical and historical lineages that converge on this beacon of the piano literature. Known for his inspired programming, Ólafsson juxtaposes the work with music by J.S. Bach and Schubert, as well as Beethoven’s own earlier Sonata in E minor, Op. 90. Opus 109 is out now on all formats. Also released today is the new music video for Beethoven: Piano Sonata, Op. 109: I. Vivace ma non troppo – Adagio espressivo.
Opus 109 – Beethoven · Bach · Schubert follows on from 2023’s Goldberg Variations, which earned Ólafsson a GRAMMY Award®, the title of Musical America’s Instrumentalist of the Year, the OPUS KLASSIK Bestseller award and the German Record Critics’ Annual Award, as well as help him hit the milestone of one billion streams in November 2024. The unanimous critical acclaim that greeted the album was echoed in the reviews of Ólafsson’s season-long global tour which saw him perform the work 90 times.
Víkingur Ólafsson performs the Opus 109 programme throughout the current season and beyond, including on a German tour in November and December 2025 and in several dates across North America.
To mark the release, a new short documentary, entitled ‘On Opus 109’, has just been released exclusively on STAGE+. In this ten-minute film, Víkingur Ólafsson shares the making of Opus 109, the ideas behind the programme and what he discovered along the way – filmed between his home studio and the landscapes of Iceland.
Selection of forthcoming OPUS 109 recitals:
1 Dec – Müpa, Budapest · 2 Dec – Konzerthaus, Vienna · 5 Dec – Tonhalle, Zürich
6 Dec – Victoria Hall, Geneva · 8 Dec – Isarphilharmonie, Munich · 9 Dec – Meistersingerhalle, Nuremberg
Full touring details here
