Víkingur Ólafsson, piano

Yuja Wang, piano

Duo piano / piano four hands

Symphony Hall

Fri. February 21, 8:00 PM

Pianists Víkingur Ólafsson and Yuja Wang have consistently wowed audiences as solo recitalists, chamber music partners, and orchestral soloists. This season, they come together on Symphony Hall’s stage for a two-piano and piano four hands recital featuring Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, John Adams’ Hallelujah Junction, and more.

In recent seasons, Icelandic pianist Ólafsson has left Series audiences awestruck thanks to his prolific and captivating performance style. Awarded her first Grammy in 2024 for Best Classical Instrumental Solo, Wang’s unstoppable rise within the classical music world is a testament to her dazzling skill and charisma. Ólafsson and Wang are sure to deliver an unforgettable experience: illuminating, surprising, and joyful.

Program Details

Program note to come

“As individual performers, these pianists could not be more different. Wang has a big, bright, brilliant sound, luminous even at pianissimo levels; Olafsson’s has a certain opacity and darkness. Yet his is the black velvet to her diamanté; together they boast a sonic cupboard stocked with a double range of delectables. Across the evening, they relaxed more and more, sparking off one another and ultimately filling the hall with music-making of such spontaneity and joy that they had the audience yelling with delight over Brahms waltzes, which is not something you see every day.”
Jessica Duchen inews.co.uk

“Ólafsson's performance has pace, but shines in its crystalline transparency of voices, lyrical in how split-second notes are connected, and above all exudes pure joy. ”
Tom Huizenga, NPR

“To these scores’ vast demands [Yuja Wang] brought both clarity and poetry. She played with heft but not bombast, sentiment but not schmaltz. Virtuosity on this level, in material this ravishing, is elevating to witness. ”
Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times