The Goldberg crown has settled on a new head: Vikingur Olafsson’s Golberg Variations reviewed

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In 2018, the Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafsson released a solo Bach album. It bounced along unforgettably. Olafsson’s subsequent albums for Deutsche Grammophon were all lovely, but like many ‘intellectual’ pianists blessed with a pearly touch he could sound a bit precious. I missed the playfulness of his Bach, and so when he announced he was recording the Goldberg Variations I was excited. Could he sprinkle the magic of his original album over this famous Aria and its 30 tightly argued variations, at a time when there are more than 200 rival recordings on piano floating around – and roughly the same number on harpsichord? (When Glenn Gould cut his sensational Goldberg Variations in 1956, the only competition was a forgotten disc from Claudio Arrau.)

The answer is: yes, he’s pulled it off. Olafsson’s Goldbergs begin by passing a big test: he doesn’t moon over the Aria, but just plays it.