Childhood memories and a tribute to a musical hero are the inspiration behind Víkingur Ólafsson’s most personal album to date. The Icelandic pianist presents FromAfar, a unique double album containing two recordings of the same repertoire, one played on a Steinway concert grand, the other on an upright piano. Available as a double LP gatefold edition (180g black vinyl), it includes a 4page insert featuring a fascinating extended essay by Ólafsson himself. Named after Aus der Ferne by György Kurtág, one of the pianist’s favourite composers, From Afar began to take shape not long after the two men first met, in September 2021. Unable to find the right words to thank Kurtág for an encounter that left him with “a feeling of lightness and joy”, Ólafsson instead found the right music. Describing the album as “a letter to a friend”, he has chosen a selection of the Hungarian composer’s original miniatures and transcriptions. Interspersed with these are Icelandic and Hungarian folksongs, and works by Schumann, Brahms and Thomas Adès, among others, many of which are rooted in the pianist’s musical past. The soundworlds conjured by the two instruments Ólafsson plays here are very different, but both are equally rich in colour and atmosphere. From Afar will be released by Deutsche Grammophon on 7 October 2022.
